Harry Potter and the Rebirth of Salazar Slytherin
by Mrriddler
Summary: [DISCONTINUED] Harry centric story. What if Harry Potter was not just Harry Potter. What if he was the reincarnation of an dark wizard. Who will be his new allies? enemies? Possibly R for violence and dark themes later .
1. The Rebirth

**Harry Potter and the Rebirth of Salazar Slytherin**

By Mr. Riddler

Chapter Beta: Denise McDonald 

**Disclaimer: _I do not claim ownership of Harry Potter or any of cannon characters, themes, or storyline within this story. _**

**Summary:** What if Harry Potter was not just Harry Potter or even the Boy Who Lived? What if he was the reincarnation of someone else from a former time, someone history has deemed to be a dark wizard? Who will be his allies, who will be his enemies? One thing is for sure. The line between good and evil has never been this thin. 

This is an AU story with a completely original idea, featuring Harry as the reincarnated form of Salazar Slytherin himself, different perception of the relationships between the Hogwarts founders, ideas of good and evil. The story is sad and angsty at times and can be violent and bloody, but it is actually lighter than what it would seem. 

Note: Harry/Salazar is in theory the 'good' guy or at least the protagonist of the story but he will be in conflict with the other light forces, mainly the Ministry of Magic, the Aurors, and even the Order of the Phoenix. 

Rated: PG-13/R For violence and angsty themes

Ships: Not sure, possibly Harry/Ginny

**Chapter 1: The Rebirth**

"**_Lumos_**..." 

The black tiles of the walls and ceilings reflected eerie rays of dark light into the Chamber of Secrets. Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, cautiously approached the pair of serpentine statues situated at the end of the room. The extra effort he took in attempting to be discreet had the opposite effect by magnifying the sound of contact between his shoes and the solid ground. Indeed, there was something ominous about the way the echoes bounced off the walls of chamber before entering his eardrums. More than once did Harry stop in his tracks to listen to these echoes, carefully attempting to decipher whether they were his or those of someone following him. 

The Gryffindor 5th year student had every right to be paranoid and alarmed. It was midnight and the frigid December night air was nipping at his skin. With Voldemort at the height of his powers, his friends would undoubtedly think he was out of his mind to be out of bed not to mention being in the Chamber of Secrets of all places. Which was why he came on this expedition alone, without Ron or Hermione. 

Come on Harry, you faced Voldemort before, for crying aloud. How bad can being in the dark be compared to that?  The 'brave' Boy Who Lived quickly regretted his last thought as a squeak almost gave him a heart attack. Despite the fright, the boy quickly used his quick reflexes, trained by the numerous encounters with Voldemort and Death Eaters, to direct his wand at the perpetrator. 

Harry blinked as he saw the form of a gray rat. The boy stared motionlessly at the creature, who looked back him with what appeared to be ... a look of fear. He never recalled what made him react the way he did, but he did. A sudden look of unholy rage crept across the young boy's face as he quickly associated this common rodent with one of the most hateful persons he knew. His instincts took over as he narrowed his eyes. 

"**_STUPEFY_**" A jet of hot curse shot out of Harry's wand. 

The rat gave a lot terrified squeak as the force of the spell sent it crashing into the wall. The force of the spell powered by anger and hate would probably have been enough to kill a wizard, but somehow the rat managed to shake off the spell and speed off at top speed. Harry watched as the detestable animal disappeared around the corner. 

What's happening to me? The boy ran a trembling hand through the mop that was his hair. Just earlier today, he had yelled at his friends for apparently no reason. They asked him what was wrong at dinner since he hasn't been eating well for the last couple of days. Harry snapped at Ron and Hermione, telling them to mind 'their own bloody business'. He never really meant that. In fact, on the inside Harry was glad and comforted by the fact that at least his friends cared about him. He didn't know what caused him to explode, but he did know that his friends turned beet red at his harsh words and walked away furious. Ron looked as if he wanted to punch Harry for being a snobbish bastard. Harry wished he had. 

Although it looked as if he didn't care as he walked away in the opposite direction, Harry in fact cared a great deal about their friendship. He had wanted very much to apologize right there and then and ask them for their forgiveness, but he couldn't. He didn't know what caused him to yell at his closest friends in the first place, so he couldn't prevent himself from repeating the same mistake. Therefore, it would seem pointless to try to retrieve his broken friendship only to have it broken in another encounter. 

Harry walked up to the statue of Salazar Slytherin, which stood before the closed set of doors, the doors that had enclosed the feared Basilisk until his second year when he had killed it. He smiled at this thought rather sadly. How he wished he could return to the years before, when he felt safe among his friends and family even if he was not in actuality. Now, he was alone or at least he felt alone just as Lord Voldemort had finally made his presence known... even to the dimwit Fudge. 

The 15-year-old boy as he eyed the statues with narrowed eyes. He had been getting visions and premonitions of horrific events, scenarios of catastrophic worldwide disasters at the hands of Voldemort and his followers. Then one day, he heard this voice calling, urging, summoning him to come to the Chamber of Secrets. Even as he was suspicious at first of a Death Eater scheme, Harry had the vague notion that the voice came from inside of him, which could mean a) he had finally cracked or b) his subconscious was trying to tell him something. Harry assumed the latter option, which is why he had returned to the Chamber of Secrets. Now all he had to do is wait for that 'voice' to return to him. He hoped he wouldn't have to wait for long. 

A sudden aura of light appeared around Harry and he looked surprised as the statue of Slytherin looked back at him with glowing red eyes for a millisecond. The odd part was that Harry wasn't afraid. In fact, he was expectant, expectant of the changes to come and the consequences they entail. The light grew stronger until it encompassed the entire chamber and had engulfed the Boy Who Lived... 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Harry Potter studied himself before the mirror in the boy's restroom, adjacent to the 5th year boy's room in Gryffindor tower. He traced a finger along his face as if testing the texture of the skin. Occasionally, he would smile as if recalling fond memories of the past. After about thirty minutes of careful self - evaluation, he was satisfied. The boy gave one last smile at his reflection. His eyes - those great emerald green spherical optical lenses - glittered brightly as he did. Yet as he did this a pair of glowing red eyes returned the look. For one tenth of a second, one could have swore they say the very image of Salazar Slytherin in that mirror. 

One thought crossed the boy's mind as he made his way back to bed. Tom is going to pay... dearly.His serpentine eyes blinked in determination for a second and then they reverted to their normal color.


	2. What was, What is

Thanks for all the reviews, I really appreciate them.

Thanks once again to Denise McDonald for beta reading and offering some awesome advice on writing. 

**Chapter 2: What was, What is**

Harry Potter donned his Gryffindor robes in silence.

Gryffindor... Harry laughed inwardly at the name. The bright Gryffindor symbol on his robes seemed to almost mock him causing him to sigh rather bleakly. It had to be some sick joke of fate, placing him, Salazar Slytherin in the house of his rival. And that was not all, oh no, lady luck had to be a bitch and made him a hero as well; the Boy Who Lived, savior of the Wizarding World, illustrious seeker of Gryffindor House and the very emblem of the Gryffindor Lion. Harry dared not think what Godric would have thought had he known... 

But, the present situation did have one positive effect. Voldemort would undoubtedly be flattened when he learned who Harry truly was.

It should be most interesting, indeed...  Thought Harry as he stared out of the window pensively. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ronald Weasleystifled a yawn as he sat up in his bed, looking strikingly similar to an awakening of an Egyptian mummy after a 1000-year slumber. What he saw, however, as he opened his eyes caused him to gag literally, causing him to almost fall out of his bed in shock. There was Harry Potter, still in his pajamas, leaning on one elbow and looking out of the window in a manner that surpassed even Hermione's most pensive of looks. The boy quickly turned to see what the commotion was all about. 

"What's the matter?" Asked Harry as he walked over to Ron. 

"Nothing, nothing, just what were you doing there? You seemed like you were in a trance." Ron frowned. 

"Oh, the usual, life and Voldemort in general." 

Stupid, what were you thinking? Of course he would be thinking about him! The red headed boy chastised himself mentally, partially for his ill – planned question and partially for how he has acted for the last couple of days. 

"Look, Harry, I just want to say, you know... I am sorry." Stammered Ron before. The boy's cheeks flushed a bit as he saw the surprised look on his friend's face. 

"Hermione and I, we saw the Daily Post..." Explained Ron, leaving the rest of what is known, unsaid. Harry winced. He knew what his friend was talking about. 

Even without Rita Skeeter around, reporters from the Daily Post and other media groups have been continually and shamelessly, blasting Harry about the events of this year and last from his link to Cedric's death to his supposed dark connections and qualities such as Parseltongue. Engulfed in waves of scandals and corruptions itself, Fudge's Ministry of Magic had been all too eager to cast the famous Boy Who Lived as the scapegoat and did little to prevent and perhaps even encouraged the circulation of these ludicrous rumors. Harry, for his part became accustomed to such flames from the press, but it was when his close friends began losing faith in him that he was truly shaken and hurt. As the saying goes, 'You are hurt the most by those closest to you'.  

"It's quite alright; I was being an ass as well." Answered Harry with a smile. "Come on, let's go to breakfast. I'm sure Hermione's up already." 

Harry's well chosen words of understanding followed by the implication of food quickly won over Ron. The two quickly dressed themselves and bounded downstairs to find Hermione waiting for them. After a quick string of reconciliatory words, the trio set off to breakfast much more light hearted. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Are you really going to eat all that, Ron?" Asked Hermione with a look of disapproval as she saw his friend's face disappear under a mountain food. His dish piled high with every imaginable kind of meat and half a dozen different side dishes.

"I am a growing boy, Hermione." Complained Ron as he began to stuff his face with food with very little regard for table manners, to the disgust of several girls nearby and the amusement of the boys.

"I swear, one of these days..." Scowled Hermione. Harry chuckled lightly beside them while shaking his head. However, while he smiled and grinned on the outside like normal, Harry was in fact in deep deliberation.

Of the three, only Harry realized that he had only temporally salvaged their friendship. He could very well lose his friends again in another argument or when they discover the truth regarding his identity, but Harry was not concerned. Past experiences showed Harry the importance of taking on the challenges of life one at a time and to enjoy the small victories along the way... or else he would never have been able to be as close to the other Hogwarts Founders. 

It's truly amazing how ignorant the world is of the true lives of the great Hogwarts Four, but that was the way all four of them wanted it, that their achievements, ambitions and legacies be kept hidden from prying eyes. Of course, the downside was that since the public couldn't get any concrete information on them, the magical historians simply combined all the rumors and myth about the four and wrote it down as history...blah. The result is such things like the infamous Gryffindor - Slytherin relationship of animosity and absolute hate or the generalization of the founders with single words like brave, evil, smart and hardworking. (Each word corresponding respectively to Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Helga Hufflepuff) Undoubtedly, he would have to fix the people's misguided views, but for the present moment, Harry wanted to enjoy his breakfast. 

"Hey Harry, did you hear what happened to Snape during double Potions with 3rd year Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws?" Asked Dean Thomas as he looked over at the trio; Uncontrollable excitement written all over his face, looking as if he would explode if he didn't spill what he knew fast.

"What happened?" Asked Ron keenly. The Gryffindor's eyes were lit as if his friend held the secret to eternal youth. 

"They were making this potion to cure common snake poisoning when someone spilled some bottle of some liquid antidote or something. Anyway, Snape was furious and began taking house points and screaming like a maniac. The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws were so scared that they completely ignored their potions and screwed them over completely. Anyway, the git was examining this one cauldron when it exploded all of a sudden, splattering the contents _all…over...him." Stated Dean with glee. "So, he was supposedly in the infirmary looking like he had a bad experience with make up and threatening to expel the student responsible."_

The entire Gryffindor table erupted in applause, pleased at the fate that befell their most hated teacher. Undoubtedly knowing what it was about, the Slytherin shot death glares at their rivals, who ignored them completely. 

"It's not that funny, you know..." Protested Hermione as she tried in vain to refrain from laughing along with the rest of her friends. 

"Yes, it is and you know it Hermione. Besides, the greasy git will probably take a hundred house points from us outright just to vent his anger. And we have him first with the Slytherins." Countered Ron as he stuffed a piece of sausage into his mouth. Sitting comfortably in his seat, Harry had to agree with his friend. Snape was going to be in a very, very, very bad mood. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Ten points from Gryffindor for speaking out of turn and unreasonable questioning of a teacher." Snapped the potions master as he dismissed the class. "Next time, it will be fifty points."

"The Gryffindors groaned as they filed out the door and gave the snickering Slytherins earned themselves cold glares as usual. 

"Told you..." Said Ron to Hermione as he rolled his eyes at her. The bushy haired girl simply shrugged as she walked away. 

"At least, he didn't give you guys any detention." Ron didn't look pleased as he walked along after her. Harry on the other hand thought that she just might be right. Despite the professor's arrogant, biased and intolerable attitude towards him, Harry had remained calm through out the period, giving the potions master no reason or excuse – depending on how you look at it – to give the boy any detentions. This had infuriated the older man to no end much to the amusement of Harry. 

Tusk, tusk, tusk, first code of Slytherin: never lose your cool, professor. Chided the boy mentally as he walked off to find his friends, ignoring the taunts from the Slytherin camp. Again, he will deal with them when the time comes. 

"Come on, Harry. We are going to be late for History of Magic." With that, Hermione took off in a sprint followed by a dejected Ron. Despite their efforts, they still ended up being late for class, but managed to slip by the unsuspecting Professor Binns as he continued to drone onwards. 

"... we continue our studies on the period of the late Dark Magical Age or the Age of Mystics. As you **all** know, Hogwarts itself was founded during this time by four of the most important people of their time. Their union and collaboration created one of the first large institutions of magical education in Magical Britain. As such, today, we will study the role Salazar Slytherin played in all this." There was the sound of several *thuds* as the hands of the sleepy students slipped causing them to be shocked awake. 

"Did I just hear him correctly?" Asked Ron with widened eyes, as he rubbed the sore spot on his forehead. Several hands shot up.

"Mr. Finnigan?"

"Sir, why the heck are we learning about a dark wizard for?" Asked the Gryffindor boy with disgust. There were several mutters of support mainly from the Gryffindors. 

"I am here to teach you about the History of Magic and history has no affiliation with either light or darkness." Answered the professor in a monotone. 

The students gave weird looks at the professor. Salazar Slytherin was the darkest wizard of his time and founded a legacy of evil, AKA the Slytherin House, end of story. What was there more to learn about the damn bastard? A few of the Gryffindors snorted derisively, but the History of Magic teacher ignored this hostile reaction... either that or he was simply oblivious to his class's reactions. Harry narrowed his eyes ever so slightly at the crude comments directed at him managed to maintain his normal appearance of barely suppressed boredom.  

"… contemporaries have gathered a wealth of information regarding the infamous dark lord..." But even he had his limits. By now, Harry was feeling the development of an uncomfortable twist in his stomach. 

So, Godric ended up being hailed as the Savior of Light by history and I ended up being slanted to the side as the Dark Lord. Thought the boy darkly.

This was going to be a long lesson, Harry thought and the black haired Gryffindor was right. More than once, Harry had to call upon the quiet patience of Salazar Slytherin to keep his facial façade as his fellow Gryffindors made sly comments about his previous life. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey, Harry, what did you think of that?" Asked Ron as he and his best friend walked out of History of Magic. Harry shrugged, pretending that he didn't think much of it . 

"Oh, please, Professor Binns barely touched the tip of the ice burg. The real Salazar Slytherin was SO much worse." Commented an excited voice. Harry raised his eyebrows at the Ravenclaw 5th year. 

"Really...?" Asked Hermione with interest. She had also heard/read stories about the dark wizard but was eager to learn more.

"Yep, ... you know two years after creation of the Dark Council of Doom in the late 10th century, Salazar Slytherin aided Warlock Shaclor in subjugating most of what is now the British Isles. He even led some of the attacks personally! But, despite Slytherin's open betrayal, no one could do anything about it because he was so powerful as well as being one of the founders of Hogwarts. It was only after Warlock Shaclor's defeat that they finally acted. By then, Slytherin already left the school and began openly supporting the dark side." The girl stated confidently. Harry remained emotionless even as several Gryffindors shuffled around the Ravenclaw speaker, straining to hear every word.

"The *books* say that he simply left Hogwarts when he saw that he couldn't influence and manipulate the Godric and the light side anymore." 

"Yes, that's what I read too." Interjected Hermione. 

"In reality, there had been a final confrontation between Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin. It was suppose to be a duel to the death. After a long and gruesome fight, Godric finally triumphed but as he stood before the fallen wizard, he spared his archenemy. Instead, he chose to humiliate him and forced him to leave the Wizarding world forever." Finished the Ravenclaw girl, smiling at herself for her knowledge. All the other Gryffindors listened with varying decree of interest. One thing, however was for sure, that story made the Gryffindors all the more proud of themselves and all the more malicious towards anything relating to Slytherin. 

"Come on, let's get to Transfiguration before Professor McGonagall gives us another detention." Hermione called from in front of them as she broke into a sprint.  

"Wasn't that a shame? Godric should have killed the bastard when he had the chance. Would have saved us a lot of problems." Joked Ron with a snort as he took after his friend. Harry looked at the back of the Gryffindor boy with piercing eyes. 

"Yes, yes it would have I suppose..." He slowly responded. Harry shock off the shock. He was definitely going to have many problems with his public image. 

FLASHBACK

"Are you about this, Salazar?" Asked Godric Gryffindor with a sigh. He really did not want things to end like this. 

The chilling December wind refused to die down despite the change in season. The founders of Hogwarts watched with quiet desperation as one of their own prepared to leave from their circle.

"Think about it. You would be giving up so much. You can bring her here. Tell her who you are." Pleaded Rowena. Salazar remained adamant. 

"I have to agree. Just think of it." Added Helga Hufflepuff. Though said with less passion, the words carried the same meaning.  

"I can not. You know how the muggles are about the supernatural. If I want to be with her, I *must* leave. I am sorry." 

"Yes, I suppose. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would see the day. Salazar Slytherin the Great leaving the Wizarding World for love." Whispered Godric with awe and a little bit of sarcasm. Salazar shot back a small grin. 

"We all must stand up for what we want and believe in ... I learned that from you, after all." Salazar smiled at his friend even as Godric tried to hide his surprise. 

"But you are giving up so much. The Wizarding World will never know the debt it owes to you. Think of the fame you would gain." Added the intelligent Rowena as she tried to induce her fellow founder to abandon his scheme with that magical word, 'fame'. Salazar looked back sharply. 

"I don't need it anymore where I am going and I don't want it." His companions looked stunned at his reply. What has happened to their Salazar? The man laughed roughly at their shocked expressions.

"Goodbye, friends. These years at Hogwarts have been some of my most fulfilling years. I have learned so much from all of you but I must go now." Stated Salazar with resolute. The others exchanged pained expressions but finally accepted their friend's decision. One by one, they exchanged final greetings. Each of the three remaining founders bowed reverently before Salazar, which was returned in kind. This was a formal show of respect and was followed by the more causal and personal hugs. 

Taking one last look his companions for many decades, Salazar turned on his heels and walked off. He didn't Apparate since he might as well get used to living as a muggle. 

"Good luck on your new life, my friend." Godric added softly as his friend disappeared over the horizon. 

END FLASHBACK

His intimate and tear jerking departure was never recorded down in history by par of Salazar's explicit wishes. Neither did he allow others to disclose his true allegiance, which was frankly more to the light then dark. He had reasoned that as long as he held up the concept of being a dark wizard, he could utilize his position to turn or convince other fledglings from taking or divulging completely onto the dark path. At the time, it had worked beautifully and many disasters were avoided between the light and dark, but now Harry had his doubts. From just a single day in the present world, he could tell that his image has been tarnished almost beyond salvation by millennia of rumors and fictitious fears. 

Harry decided that he would have to be careful, yes, very careful. No one, not his friends, not his **family**, not even Dumbledore can know. Looks like he would have a difficult time building up support, but that's problem for another time. Harry felt anger and a certain degree of helplessness build up within him. He needed to find some way to relieve this tension...

From the back of his head, a thought came up, Quidditch... Yes, flying a few laps around the pitch would definitely help. Harry headed off to Transfiguration class, having decided his plans for the afternoon.


	3. The Coming of the Tides of Change

Many thanks to Lucy for beta reading this chapter.

**Chapter 3: The Coming of the Tides of Change **

Fierce winds blew across the flat field. Any normal person would have shuddered at the coldness, but Harry was not normal now was he. No, the sharp, cutting air current was warming in some ways. It made him feel free and alive, which was why he loved Quidditch so much. Today, Harry Potter was exceptionally eager to test out what his newfound powers could do for his game. He marched on to the Quidditch pitch with his trusted Firebolt in hand and robes bellowing in the wind. Imagine his surprise when he found virtually the entire Gryffindor Quidditch team on the field along with several students from the other houses.

"Harry... just the person we are looking for!" Grinned one of the Weasley twins. It was George.

"Splendid, simply splendid! Thanks for showing up, mate!" Stated Fred as he clamped his hand over Harry's shoulder in brotherly affection. The Gryffindor seeker raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"I didn't know we had practice, today."

"Oh, sorry about that, dear boy. We tried to tell you, but we never saw you in the hallways." Fred shrugged as Harry nodded in understanding. George quickly cut in laying his hand on the other side of Harry's shoulder.

"In any case, it's not practice, really. We are looking to replace the

." The Weasley twins wore a set of identical grins that definitely sent alarm bells ringing in Harry's mind.

"Well, who is it?" Asked Harry nonchalantly. A few people around him snickered as if they were sharing a private joke.

"Was it something I said?" Asked Harry, a bit perplexed. Now he was most definitely suspicious.

"No, nothing... well you'll see for yourself." Commented Fred good-naturedly. Harry looked between the Weasley twins and frowned. Something fishy was going on or maybe a surprise of some sort. But god, how he hated surprises, especially since it used to involve Godric turning his wardrobe into some outlandish color, primarily purple or pink, but Harry refrained from ordering his friends to reveal their secret like the Dark Lord he is.

"So, where's Ron?" Asked Harry, attempting to start another conversation.

"He's in the locker room with the girl." It was after he finished the statement that George as well as his twin saw an amused grin across the Gryffindor seeker's face.

"No, no, NOT like that, ew..."

"I mean he's in there with Hermione and talking with her. Don't ever, EVER, think like that Harry." Corrected George very quickly. The disgusted reactions of the people present made Harry very curious and caused his Slytherin wheels to turn in his head.

Well, assuming the Weasley twins read my expression correctly, then the girl would have to be a relative... now, who's a girl here and is... If he had a couple of more seconds, Harry most certainly would have guessed the identity of this new Quidditch player. But as it was, three figures decided to make an entrance from the Quidditch locker rooms. The Gryffindor Quidditch relished at the sight of a stunned Harry Potter as Virginia Weasley walked towards them along with Ron and Hermione. They seemed to be engaged in an animated discussion so they didn't even notice the eager spectators.

"Hey, Ginny, look who's here?" Fred Weasley took the chance to embarrass his sister by drawing attention to the figure next to him. The irritated girl looked up only to flush red at the sight of the Gryffindor seeker who leaned casually on his broom watching the girl with an appraising sort of look.

"Ginny..." The boy said finally, acknowledging the girl's presence. "I didn't know you were trying out."

"Oh, she did it a week ago. She's going to be starting as Chaser so Katie can be Keeper." Explained Fred with pride.

"Congratulations, Ginny!" Harry's eyes lit up at this revelation and looked at the girl with a wide smile. The girl's mouth moved to form the words 'thank you', but nothing came out. The deep shade of red on her cheeks, however, spoke more than any words. After all, all the poor girl could do was become lost in that smile. The moments afterwards were definitely awkward as the girl shifted weight from one foot to another and tried not to be entranced by those surveying emerald green eyes once again.

"Oh, Ginny, you should have seen yourself." Coughed out Fred finally as he leaned on fellow Gryffindor, Katie Bell for support.

"Oh yes, Harry Potter has looked at me. Now, I can swoon with happiness." George added in an imitation of a swooning lady, falling into the lap of an amused Angelina Johnson. Everyone chuckled as Ginny flushed red, this time in anger. The only thing that prevented her from pummeling her brothers into the ground was the pair of firm hands that held her back.

"It's alright, Ginny. Sorry, I stared." Apologized Harry. This caused the young girl to turn red once more, which sent the Weasley twins tumbling into another fit of laughter.

"Grrr... Those two, when I get my hands..." The Weasley girl barred her teeth and balled her hands into fists as she made a threatening overture at her brothers.

"Hum... why don't we get started, eh? Ginny, do you think you are up for it?" Asked a smiling Alicia Spinnet, the new Gryffindor quidditch captain, who took over from Wood, who had graduated two years ago.

"Yeah, sure." Ginny responded as she mounted her broom and took off, quiet eager to avoid further embarrassment.

"Yeah, why to go, you two..." Stated Ron with some annoyance. Where as his twin brother enjoyed taunting and joking with Ginny regarding his boyfriend, Ron was severely repelled by such thought. After all, his best friend with his sister, no bloody way. Ron had always thought that it was just a flick, a small crush from Ginny's first year from when Harry saved her from Tom Riddle's diary. But, lately, the constant blushes Ginny had around Harry did not ease Ron's state of mind, but at least, at the very least, Harry wasn't interested in her... or so he thought.

As Harry watched the new chaser with attentive eyes, his best friend was watching his face for signals, signs of the slightest smile, grin and or glittering and twinkling of the eyes.

"How come I didn't know about the try outs?" Asked Harry suddenly, not taking his eyes off of the flame haired girl. His eyes followed her every movement. The Weasley girl was definitely a natural and executed each maneuver with perfection. With every turn, every twist, every banked corner, his eyes glowed more and more brightly ... from respect, from admiration, from ... love?

Hold it! Harry quickly thought. The boy managed to regain his cool Slytherin composure and dismissed his last thought. Apparently, Ron was satisfied with Harry's reactions, which did not have that love stricken flavor, found in Ginny. Weasley boy relaxed considerably and decided to enjoy the display with the others as they watched Virginia fly like no other... except maybe Harry.

"Oh, sorry about that mate, it was last week, so we didn't exactly see you often. I am terribly sorry." Explained Ron, wincing a bit at the heated discussions they had up to until now. Harry nodded in understanding shrugging away his friend's attempts to apologize as if it was no big deal.

After a few minutes, Harry saw George Weasley fly to Alicia out of the corner of his eye. He whispered something, and both of them started grinning like maniacs. His acute Slytherin senses told Harry, that something was up.

"Hey Harry, you want to fly. Ginny's interested in a seeker match against you." Captain Spinnet called out.

"Excuse me..." Stuttered Harry, not attempting to hide his surprise. Ginny almost fell from her broom, but managed to hang on as she glared at Alicia and George.

"Oh, ok, sure." Harry answered amiably as he mounted his Firebolt and shot up to where the others were.

Might as well see what she can do... He thought. The Gryffindor inside Harry was excited but the Slytherin in Harry was a bit more curious about what this was. Harry knew that partly it was to embarrass Ginny and him, but something told him there was more. They have all seen Harry play, so was Ginny really that good... as both a chaser and a seeker.

"Well, I accept your challenge, Ms. Weasley." Answered Harry warmly as he turned to Ginny, who looked like she wanted to disappear.

"Go, Ginny! Show him who's boss!" Cried Fred from the side jokingly.

"Shut up, Fred!" Hissed the chaser with clenched fists.

"Hey, chill out sis. We are just cheering, that's all." Stated Fred apologetically with raised hands. His twin meanwhile took the chance to speak to Harry.

"Don't worry about going easy on her because she can and will beat you." He said flatly, but in an amicable kind of way. Harry looked at the Weasley with raised eyebrows and then at Ginny and then back at George. The smile on his face seemed to say 'we shall see'.

The players flew up approximately 50 feet into the air and hovered around each other as Alicia Spinnet retrieved the snitch while Fred and George prepared the bludgers. In a Seeker Match, there are just the seekers, but to add to the level of difficulty, bludgers are usually added. Usually two to four bludgers are used because any more makes it impossible for the seekers to concentrate in locating and catching the snitch, but a Seeker Match of over 12 has been recorded before. Though, one has to wonder the sanity of the seekers of such a game.

"They are serious about one thing. I can beat you, Harry." Said Ginny with radiating confidence. "I want you to try your best so I can see how well I can really fly." The last bit the red haired girl said with remarkable sternness so uncharacteristic of the normal girl that Harry blinked in surprise. But the seeker quickly recovered.

"Alright, then Ginny, no mercy then." Harry stated with a bright smile, impressed by the girl's determination. Of course, it was a big black lie. The thousand year old mage was a master sentinel. Trained by the best and tested on the field, Slytherin could track and engage dozens of fast moving enemies as well as the spells that are in play. Oh, yes, countless ambushes by members of the light orders as well dark assassins have taught him to have eyes in the back of his head and have trained him to be as sharp as an eagle As such, trying to find and catch the snitch was... well a snap, no pun intended. Briefly, Harry toyed with the idea of swooping down just as Alicia released the snitch and catch it, but decided against it as for doing so would only attract further attention to himself and to his newly recovered powers. After all, it would be unusual for a person to catch a snitch just three seconds after its release, even for Harry Potter.

"All right, play ball!" Alicia cried from below. The golden snitch hovered for a millisecond and disappeared just as two bludgers came hurling at Ginny and Harry. The Weasley girl ducked under one and flew straight upwards to put some distance between her and the bludger, while Harry shot straight towards the bludger...

"What is he doing?" Cried Ron in horror, watching Harry. His best friend had done some crazy stuff for Quidditch before, but he thought Harry had finally lost it when he flew directly at the bludger. There were deep gasps as the Gryffindor seeker dropped on his belly, flipped the broom upside down, and allowed the bludger to fly over the top of his broom.

"Where the hell did he learn that?" Ron was ecstatic. If Harry could pull off moves like that, they might as well give the House Cup to them this year. This seemed to be the consensus of the rest of the Gryffindors, with the exception of Hermione, that is.

"Is he CRAZY? That bludger could have killed him if it hit him!" Hermione was outraged at such stunts. Her friend simply rolled his eyes.

"Come on it's Harry, it's Quidditch. What did you expect?" Shrugged Ron. Hermione frowned, but had to admit it was rather impressive and exhilarating. She could see some of the spectators become breathless and pale white in the cheeks because of that previous stunt.

Whoa! Never seen that before. Looks of horror, surprise, admiration crossed Ginny's face as she watched Harry perform his first daring maneuver. They were soon replaced by a look of pure resolution, determined to prove herself. It wasn't long before both seekers began performing air aerobics exercises, which were interrupted by the very frequent cheers of approval.

"It looks like they are more into showing off then to trying to catch the snitch." Stated Hermione darkly to Ron, not liking how the two are performing more and more dangerous movements with each passing minute. Ronald Weasley, however, remained completely silent and oblivious to his friend's words. Hermione turned to see what could considered to be an absolutely pale red haired vampire. His clenched knuckles had become snow white as they grasped unsteadily on the railings.

Apparently Harry had managed to get both bludgers to converge on his opponent from opposite direction. With seconds before a duel impact, Ginny killed the speed on her Nimbus 2000 and dropped 40 feet in point 0.3 seconds (very impressive since normal human reaction time is 0.2).

Grr... I'll get him for that... Vowed Ginny. Minutes later, she had her chance.

The snitch hovered in the distant and floated in mid air for all to see, just waiting to be captured. Ginny waited quietly to the side and watched as Harry edged closer. Thinking that she didn't see it, the Gryffindor seeker suddenly shot after it. At that instant Ginny moved in and crossed directly in front of the unsuspecting Harry. Spectators watched in amazement as her loose school robes fluttered in Harry's face, blinding him temporarily and causing him to pull away.

"Wow, she's really going at it." Indeed, Ron was quite right. Almost everyone was shocked by Ginny's rather offensive style of playing especially to Harry Potter. The girl only grinned back toward Harry, knowing that she only rattled the other boy... nothing serious. It was then that both seekers as well as most of the spectators saw the snitch, hovering in midair as it deflected a ray of light perfectly. Ginny and Harry both shot forward, but it was obvious who would get it. Ginny was well ahead of Harry so that not even the Firebolt's superior acceleration or speed can compensate.

Virginia Weasley's face tensed, forming a look of absolute determination. Pushing her broom to the limit, she never saw the renegade bludger turning around the corner at two o'clock or hear the cries of alarm from the stands. Just as the girl closed her hands on the golden prize, a heavy objected crashed into her right side, sending her spiraling in a downward loop.

"Ginny's seen the snitch!" Shrieked Ron excitedly. The sudden burst of speed in his sister's broom seemed to support this fact. By now, almost all of the spectators in the stand have stood up in heavy anticipation. Understanding that their Ginny was going to get the snitch no matter what, the Weasleys had especially large grins on their faces. That is not to say that they hate Harry, just that they can brag about how their little sister beat him in a Seeker Match in the future. It was Hermione's startled cry that made everyone turn pale white.

"Wait, what about that bludger?" She stated pointing to the bludger coming at Ginny from the side. It didn't look like she was attempting to maneuver around meaning she probably didn't see it. An impact by that bludger at that angle at that speed could easily knock the girl out cold, and not just off the broom, which would be very bad.

"Ginny! WATCH OUT!" Ron's desperate cries coupled with those of his brothers and Ginny's own friends went forth unheeded. Ron waited the anxious seconds as he saw the bludger close in and then there was a sickening bone crushing sound... but the bludger never hit Ginny, it hit Harry instead. Apparently, the other seeker saw what the girl did not and pushed his Firebolt over the limit in an attempt to shield the oblivious girl from the fatal blow. Harry emitted a surprised gasp as the bludger smashed into his right shoulder with a sickening bone crushing sound. The force of the blow knocked Harry into Ginny causing both to spin out of control, but where as Ginny managed to steady herself, Harry entered into a nosedive. Unable to regain control of his broom, Harry plummeted some 60 feet into the hard ground.

"Argh... That hurt..." Muttered Harry to himself as he struggled to open his eyes. The boy hissed in anger as another dose of hot pain shot throughout his body. He rolled on his uninjured side, while clutching his stomach, attempting to will the pain away. In addition to the dislocated shoulder, the fall had broken at least five of his ribs as well as causing non-too light multiple internal bleeding and possibly even ruptures in several semi-vital organs. It was like the like being under Cruciatus curse, only worse. In the former, the mind only thinks the body is pain, where as in this case, it is actually in pain. There can be no illusions regarding the raw and unadulterated feeling of consciously bleeding to death.

Harry cursed the fragileness of his body and himself as he realized that the untapped and unharnessed Slytherin powers within him are keeping him conscious, which is a great thing in battle for smaller injuries, but bad in this case. He had precious little time before the systematic shock of the pain delivered to his nervous system kills him.

"_**Malelixirus**_" For a second, Harry felt his body being ravaged with another thousand Cruciatus curses. But an instant later, there was nothing, no more pain, in fact, Harry could even move his shoulders freely. The Gryffindor took a brief moment to collect himself before pushing himself off the ground to greet his friends, who came running to him.

"Harry, oh my god! Are you alright?" Ronald Weasley looked absolutely horrified as he led the procession of spectators to the fallen boy.

"I am alright, a bit worn out, but alright." Harry answered with a small smile, shrugging the fall off as if it was nothing. The boy's nonchalant answer coupled with that famous reassuring smile did much to alleviate the worries of everyone.

"Oh, Harry, I am so sorry. I should have seen that...that bludger, but I was just… I mean, I could have gotten you killed!" The cries of despair from Ginny Weasley quickly gained the attention of everyone present once they were assured of Harry Potter's survival. The Weasley brothers as well as Hermione were already busy trying to reassure the stricken girl, who firmly believed that she had almost killed the Boy Who Lived.

"It's okay, it's alright. I am fine, see. I know you didn't see that bludger. It's alright, I understand." Harry laid his hands firmly on the Ginny's wavering shoulder. When the red head bursted into another fit of sobs once again, Harry allowed the girl to cry on his shoulder, while he patted her back rather awkwardly. After five minutes, Ginny finally quieted down enough for her to be escorted away by a train of friends.

One by one, the rest of the observers left, some coming to Harry to comment on what happened. Most of the Gryffindors cheered their hero for another noble undertaking, one which will most likely be recorded down in history. More than a few members of the opposite sex also expressed great admiration and awe to Harry as well as desires to meet at a personal level in the future. And then, once again George and Fred teased Harry about his undying love for their younger sister...until finally only Harry's best friends, Ron and Hermione remained.

"Bloody hell Harry. That was amazing. Thank you so much for saving Ginny, mate!" Cried Ron with joy as he embraced his best friend.

"Hum yeah, sure thing, Ron." Answered Harry.

"You sure you don't need medical attention, Harry. You fell from pretty high up." Commented Hermione, who looked like she had aged ten years in the last ten minutes. Over his loud protests, Harry's two friends grabbed on both sides of him and hosted him towards the castle.

"Gave us a mighty big scare there. We thought you would have surely died. I mean, even we heard the sound that bloody bludger made..." Stated Ron grimly.

"Well, I am the boy who lived, and I guess I didn't land too hard..." Muttered Harry lightly, trying to play it down. He was sure that his lack of injuries would raise suspicions, not to mention the healing spell he used would probably warrant an explanation upon its discovery. Harry's thoughts turned dark as he suddenly realized that in his wounded state, he had healed himself with the first spell that came to mind – it was an ancient Saxon restoration spell, considered dark and dangerous.

Bloody hell... Harry chided himself for his stupidity. He could have used any of a variety of healing spell, but nooo, he had to use the _**Dark Elixirising Heal Spell**_. As the name probably suggests, the spell temporarily injects a dose of elixir into the body created from a bit of the person's own blood. Though quite useful sometimes, the spell was discovered to have serious repercussions on sensitive wizards and magical creatures and to leave a thick polluting magical residue. Coupled with the fact that the process itself can sometimes artificially corrupt wizards and witches, the spell was labeled dark. In addition, the very knowledge of the spell is top secret in Magical Britain, known only to top ministry officials and perhaps select and prolific dark wizards.

Harry didn't need to turn to see that his friends were giving him weird looks. In the past, Harry had almost always ended up being knocked out cold for days, but in this case, he looked totally unharmed. The Gryffindor 5th year kept his head lowered to avoid eye contact with his friends as he was dragged the rest of the way to Mme. Pomfrey. He needed to concentrate coming up with a convincing story. Thank god he was Slytherin!

Harry Potter, Boy Who Lived... Salazar Slytherin, the Serpentine King, the Dark Lord, or whoever and whatever you want to call him, mounted the astronomy tower with a determined blank expression across his face. His brief meeting with Mme. Pomfrey had gone well. The matron gave the boy a pain-relieving potion and discharged him without too much trouble. But it was at dinner that the day turned another shade darker. Headmaster Albus Dumbledore announced another Death Eater attack; this time outside the town of Gravestone, claiming the lives of several dozen people, muggles and wizards alike, and wounding almost a hundred more. Among those, four Hogwarts students were wounded and a recently transferred 4th year Gryffindor was also unaccounted for, presumed to be dead. For the people, it was a solemn reminder of the continuing rise of the dark lord. For the Ministry of Magic, who failed to respond appropriately to the attack, it was a sequel to the horrifying attack on the Auror training facility at Lester a few months ago, which prompted the Ministry to officially recognize Voldemort's return. But for Harry Potter, the Gravestone attack dictated the need for definitive action and interference. He needed to reawaken his true powers and gather his forces and allies and he needed to do so quickly...

Harry casually cast a couple of wandless silencing and see-me-not charms around the tower and then stood at the edge, gazing outwards. His eyes were focused and yet unfocused at the same time as if drawing images of long ago into his mind. The boy closed his eyes as if meditating. Occasionally an updraft of wind blew his cloak backwards, showing the form of a very intimidating figure, concentrating in silence.

After two minutes of absolute stillness, he opened his eyes with exaggerated slowness. And as he did so, a deep red glow formed around him matching the new color of his eyes. An ancient staff materialized in his right hand. Acting on instinct, he raised it before him with both hands.

"Opam semarius... Caminus de fecti... malus"

"Maximus scutum rapert... Xeyer…"

Chanting in an ancient tongue, unheard since millennia ago, Harry performed the rituals which will unleash his mind and soul. With each completed verse, the aura of trembling power increased in intensity. The only things preventing outsiders from seeing, hearing or feeling any of these newly released sources of magic and power were the shield charms Harry set up before hand.

At last, the Orb of Knowledge... Harry/Salazar smiled as he held up the special ball, courtesy of Rowena Ravenclaw and several of her associates. It was indeed a fascinating artifact, mainly cause it's one of a kind, having never been reproduced. Controlled by magic beyond normal human comprehension, it was able to essentially store history... as it happens. It didn't store everything, but it contained the most important ones; information that would become invaluable. The famous saying "walls have ears" may very well be a reference to the legendary Orb of Knowledge; an object that has ears everywhere.

"Revelatas me touta cas..." The orb suddenly exploded in infinite rays of light, blinding Harry temporarily. Staggering from the explosion of every color in the light spectrum ... and the subsequent lack of any colors, he thought he had screwed up the incantation for a second. Then he was flooded by this wealth of information...

The Society of Brutamius

The Wizards Council of 1456

The Benedictine War of the Three Nations

The Rise and Fall of Gwinn, Locutor and Grindelwald

Harry gave his brain a few minutes to digest this influx of data before finally settling down. Harry called all his powers back to him, into the impenetrable depth of his mind and soul. His eyes flashed a bright red for a second before reverting to his old emerald green color. With unbelievable meticulousness and patience, Harry set about de-cursing the entire tower, systematically eliminating the presence of any dark or ancient magic as well as erasing his personal magical signature. It was laborious, but it was completely after an hour or so of meticulous work. Sighing with a deep sense of accomplishment, Harry turned to gaze outward once again.

Now that he had his powers back, Harry only needed to collect some allies before making his presence known to both that pathetic being, who called himself... no itself Voldemort and the incompetent, inept and incredibly stupid present Ministry of Magic. That could be tricky given his present public image.

But, if I recall, there was something about an **Cult of Slytherin** or something like that, who believed in my eventual rebirth. The name was a bit of a cliché, but if the Orb of Knowledge was correct, then there may very well exist an organization committed to his original goals and ideals, from which he can draw his support.

If so... then they must have felt what has happened tonight. The shields he had put up only blocked detection by conventional methods. Those versed in the ancient dark arts would have little trouble in identifying the time and location of the birth of a great wizard tonight. If so, then all Harry had to do was wait.

In a Castle somewhere in the Carpathian Mountains, Romania

"_**Crucifictus Maximus**_" A single scream echoed through the dark halls of the dead castle a thousand times, making its pained cry seem like the agony of a thousand tortured souls.

The slim figure of a blonde haired woman appeared from the shadows before the crumpled heaps of the bloodied man and his captor/ torturer. Even from the faint source of illumination, one could tell the deathly paleness of this female being, clothed in dark garments. The protruding set of white fangs left no shadow of a doubt who... or better yet what she was. The guard in the room quickly greeted her with a quick bow of recognition. The prisoner/tortured soul stuttered in shock and fear as he looked at the new person.

"Va...mp...ire..." He said it more to himself to confirm what he saw rather than to question the authenticity of the creature before him. The cold eyes of the undead creature glittered darkly with satanic amusement.

"Correct you are, Mr. Arlington." The voice was smooth and soft and yet it had the edge of authority and power.

"Ple...eaze, I...I beg of you. Mercy, mercy... I will do anything you want, anything." The man cried out desperately.

The vampire remained motionless to the man's pleas. The millennia of existence on the Earthly plane had taught the vampire much about the skills needed to survive. One of which ironically was the skill to kill, to end survival and existence for another being. As it was, to conserve resources, the blood of the terminated was often consumed by the vampire population present in the castle. In this case, Lady Anastasia von Hollenstein, First Vampire was disgusted, not because she would have to shed the blood of another, but because she would be tainted by the blood from such a foul creature. The vampire took the time to study the man, who laid like a whimpering dog before her. Such was the characteristics of the modern dark wizard... lacking resolve, dignity and losing or having lost what remained of his humanity cough Voldemort cough.

"Where am I?" The man asked after a while.

"Where else, Transylvania..." It was quite diabolical how the First Vampire was enjoying, relishing even the moment. Though it was more or less true. The castle of the First was located in the Carpathian mountains, just like the home of the mythical Count Dracula.

"What... what will you do to me?" As if that question even needed to be answered. The vampire ignored the man as she snapped her figures. Two wizards dressed in dark blue cloaks appeared.

"Get rid of this scum." The vampire stated coldly. Knowing what's to come but defiant nevertheless, the man struggled against his captors, until one of them knocked the wizard over the head causing him to crumble to the ground once more. The last words he heard were from the vampire, which were along the lines of 'at least be happy with the fact that I already ate today'.

There was a cold incantation, a flash of light and the body of the man stopped twitching.

Lady von Hollenstein shook her head in dismay. If only Lord Slytherin was here, none of these mediocre, half witted, self proclaiming, pompous wizards would dare to equate massacres and random violence with the development for a new order.

"Did you get what we need?" Asked the vampire to a fellow member of her species.

"Yes, my lady, I have extricated everything from his mind including the entire schematics of the Armadosa Plan. It would seem our friend Mr. Arlington and his friends has made plans to make contact with some of Voldemort's followers." This second vampire quickly appeared from the shadows and gave the encouraging report with an amused smile. It was funny how easily human wizards assumed that they were all knowing and omnipotent.

"Pathetic... take a team and have his friends eliminated. Destroy all traces of the Armadosa Plan while you are at it." The vampire woman ordered naturally almost lazily. Just as her subordinate rushed away to carry out her orders a flushed looking mid aged wizard ran up to her.

"Urgent. You must come to the Slytherin Room immediately, my lady. Something has happened." The anxious and slightly frightened look on this wizard's face as well as the mention of the room that holds the Scorchstone of Slytherin prompted the vampire's immediate concern.

"Show me!" The excited wizard burst into a sprint, leading the First Vampire after him. The two arrived in a dark room, which became suddenly illuminated by a beacon of green light originating from the Scorchstone. A small crowd had already gathered to marvel at the phenomenon.

"It has... it has finally happened." Muttered the man beside the lady of the vampires. Anastasia turned to see the mighty mage Tal Rasha staring the Slytherin scorchstone with awe and deep fascination.

"It would seem so. That level of pure magical energy could only mean one thing..." The vampire stated definitively. Hearing the startled gasps of all around, the 1000-year-old vampire dramatically turned completely around to face the gathering.

"...the rebirth of Lord Salazar Slytherin."

Forest Outside of Town of Gravestone

Protected by powerful overlapping shielding charms and forget-this-place spells, the entourage of wizards, witches, mages, sorceress and vampires surveyed the desolate land. A stern looking wizard led the small group to a clear patch of grass, where several bodies were laid out, shrouded by thick foliage and looming black trees.

"Death Eater attack..." No more explaining was necessary.

The others stood silently as Lady von Hollenstein kneeled to take a more thorough look at one of the carefully laid out forms. The body was that of a young witch, who was still in her youth. The horrible burns and scars along her right side bore witness to the gruesomeness of the battle... no the massacre that occurred. Now, imagine the same kind of wounds, which tell similar stories a hundred times over...

"Is this the one?" The First Vampire asked. The girl was young, not more than 14 or 15 years old. It was discovered by the initial party that she was a student of Hogwarts. This information quickly passed up the ranks, prompting this sudden appearance of high ranking members of the Serpentine Order.

"Yes, my lady. Hit with a _**Pyro Flarus Curse**_ as well as a Crucio Curse. She's in a coma, one which she will not awake from." Answered the wizard, who had led them here. There was a twinge of pity and even sympathy as he spoke. Anastasia merely nodded as she placed both hands over the dying girl's body.

"Omnipotus Loci... Translocutus Animi!" A sphere of black light engulfed the body as black energy coursed through the vampire's veins. It must have felt like being subjected to a ten million electrostatic shock, but the vampire showed no signs of such pain. Once the light subsided, the body of the girl crumpled into a pile of dust, which the night breeze quickly dispersed. Another aura of light gathered around the vampire and after a quick burst of light, the form of the deceased girl replaced the figure of First Vampire, Anastasia von Hollenstein.

It is important to note that what transgressed was not just another form of the Ployjuice potion, oh no. This vampire sorceress used advanced dark magic to absorb the girl. The vampire leader could now not only pass off physically as the Gryffindor 4th year teenaged girl, but also mentally to a certain degree, because she had also acquired part of the dying girl's memory and her thought process. It was an ingenuous plan, one which would get Anastasia within the hallways of Hogwarts and see whether of not Lord Slytherin has indeed been reborn within the body of a student of the school or a professor there.

"Will this work, my lady?" Asked a man. He was dressed in imperial purple garments, complete with violet black battle cloak, pants and trousers and carried an interesting purple gem tipped staff. The way others looked at him and held onto his every single word signified his exalted status and position.

"Albus Dumbledore, though a mortal is nevertheless a very clever and perceiving human. I wonder if it is prudent for your ladyship to attempt this venture." A shadow of a doubt lingered.

When it was discovered that the source of the power surge came from Hogwarts, the school of magic Slytherin helped find and the place where he devoted much of his life, the collection of people immediately recognized the need for someone to be on scene to find out exactly what has happened. First Vampire Anastasia was quick to install herself as the only candidate for this mission. Given her personal history with Salazar Slytherin some one thousand years ago, Anastasia reasoned that she would most likely recognize their lord if he has truly been reborn. Plus, she was the one out of the entire conglomeration of wizards, witches and magical beings in their group that was most skilled in the arts of stealth and spying. But there were still those, especially among the vampire circle, who remained anxious about the possibility of impending battles being fought without their leader, but the First Vampire stood resolute.

"Quite alright, Tal Rasha. I have considered that. I'll keep my powers sealed to prevent detection while I am at Hogwarts. While I am gone, just keep an eye on the castle... and the world." Responded the girl confidently. The mage nodded in acknowledgement. It was pointless to argue with the vampire leader when her mind was made up.

After Anastasia became somewhat accustomed to her new body, the group discussed several plans to compliment the first vampire's mission. Among them, the most significant was the formal formation of ring or group of informers in Magical Britain to gather information. And as soon as the rebirth of Salazar Slytherin was factually confirmed, they would set about gathering general support in the great wizard's home country. Once everyone was satisfied with the plans, the group bid their leader good bye and apparated away while Anastasia started to walk towards the nearest human habitation. The vampire cast the necessary disguising spells as well as forging a few fake injuries to corroborate with her story of being knocked out in the woods until now.

Anastasia didn't have to walk long before meeting a group of people, wizards in fact.

"Help!" The girl cried as she saw the approaching figures of wizards and witches. In a matter of minutes Julie Promman found herself sitting at the local Wizarding infirmary, wrapped in blankets and captivated by the enticing arms of human sleep.


	4. Recognition

Thanks to Kirk Stanley for beta reading this chapter.

**Chapter 4: Recognition**

Arch Mage and Grand Sorcerer Tal Rasha was not a man whose actions are driven by impetus and impulse and guided by instinct and gut feelings like so many of the contemporaries of his days. Being the last member of the ancient Obsidian Order, the plus two-century-old, (though possessing the physical features of a 35 year old) mage prided himself with his unshakable calmness and controlled demeanor. Nevertheless, he was human or at least mostly if not partly - high doses of foreign magic and long periods of abstinence in terms of fellow human contact has the effect of reducing one's humanness – and as such there have been occasions and moments where spontaneous emotions permeated. This was one of them. The wizard felt a strange combination of amazement, surprise, as well as that feeling of being at an epoch point in history. 

The greatest sorcerer, wizard, *practitioner of magic* - as he had called himself - of a millennia if not of all times, Salazar Slytherin had been reborn.   

That very thought is quite overwhelming for anyone who remotely understands who Salazar was and what he represented. Sadly, few do. History has made it so that even its most illustrious modern observes have come to see the Lord of Magic as no more than a powerful wizard, who turned to *dark magic*. God, he hated those two words ... *dark magic*. The Grand Sorcerer had the fortune of learning long ago that there is no *light* and *dark* magic. 

Voldemort had that much correct... I'll give him that much. Tal Rasha thought darkly as he glided through the eerie halls of Serpentus Castle. Indeed, there was no light or darkness in magic itself. Voldemort was, however, dead wrong that *power* was all that existed in magic. But...it was a common misconception... one that such great ones like Mr. Tom Riddle made. He, himself, would have and almost did make the same mistake. 

Tal Rasha smiled briefly as he reflected fondly upon that crucial point in his life when the two paths were laid before him. It was because of the knowledge gained by his ancestor's association with Salazar Slytherin himself, passed down through the years, that guided him  to make ... not necessarily the *right* choice...but most certainly the *truer* choice. 

"Aurelius! Contact the people on this list." Tal Rasha barked out the order to another wizard. Now, if Lord Slytherin had truly returned, which Rasha was more than certain of, the Arch Mage wanted to be fully prepared with the presence of at least a fledgling army when they meet. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"GEORGE AND FRED WEASLEY! I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!" A fiery flame of red hair attacked bounded down the stairs and attacked Harry's senses as the rapidly descending girl collided with the unsuspecting Harry, who had stood innocently by the stairs. 

"Argh... Ginny?" The boy called out in a daze, seeing flying birds as the flushed girl pulled herself off of him, while Ron rushed to pull his friend off the floor. 

"What happened?" Asked Hermione as she came over. Just then, the Weasley twins came strutting into the room with wide grins on their faces. 

"Hey, Ginny did you like our gift or were you too busy snogging Harry?" Fred asked with a mischievous look before taking off with George. Partially because she had been rudely awakened by one of their firebombs, but more so because of her most recent embarrassment with Harry Potter, Ginny uttered one anguish cry as she shot after the twins, swearing to haunt them to their graves. 

"That was interesting." Commented Dean Thomas. After that little excitement, the Gryffindor common returned to normal as the early risers began chatting with friends. 

"Hey, did you hear about what happened last night?" Asked Lavender Brown to a circle of 5th years. Most gave her questionable or confused looks. 

"Well, I heard they found that missing 5th year student and brought her back here. My sister saw her there at the Infirmary with Prof. Dumbledore and McGonagall." Explained the girl.   

"Oh, you mean that foreign exchange student, Julie Promman." Commented Parvati Patil with some sadness. Apparently, the girl had made quite an impression of being a nice and kind person and was well liked by the Gryffindors as well as most of the school.

"What happened to her?" Asked Seamus. 

"Well, I heard she's was in a pretty bad condition, got hit by a couple of dark curses, including the Cruciatus Curse." Added another girl. Needless to say, there were the classic *gasps* of shocks and feelings of sympathy, which could be said to be over exaggerated at best primarily because none of can really comprehend the implication of being subjugated to curses like the Cruciatus. 

Harry turned away from the conversation and was about to walk to breakfast when the door into the common room suddenly sprung open. Escorted by a select few Gryffindor 4th years, Julie Promman walked into the common room hesitantly. 

The nervous girl looked carefully around the room with what looked like a frightened look. Harry however sensed that something was wrong. Undetectable to the human or even super human eye, there was a thin mist around the girl's magical signature. It could be nothing, or it could be an advanced shielding charm, which served to shade, disguise and protect her inner image, her true self, and her powers much like the **_Sodalitis Patronam_ shield he had erected around himself. He narrowed his eyes as he discreetly attempted to divert a thin flow of magic to dissipate the mist. It proved to be an erroneous decision as the mist solidified instead into an almost impregnable barricade. It occurred to the young (or old depending on one's viewpoints) wizard that this girl has in fact something to hide and now she would most certainly know someone is watching her. Harry let louse a string of unuttered vulgar words, though they resonated clearly throughout his mind, as he felt the girl's searching eyes sweep the room in search of the perpetrator. Instinctively, Harry brought up dozens of shields and camouflages, not only on himself, but also on several of his dorm mates and the common room itself. Shocked by the sudden increase in hidden magic, Julie stumbled back and fell on the common room floor. Dazed, the black haired girl allowed herself to be hosted up by her fellow Gryffindors, who thought she was going through some post incident psychological shock. **

"Come on; let's go get some breakfast before class." Urged Ron finally as he stood up to go to breakfast. Hermione and Harry followed.

"Poor, girl. Must be suffering horribly..." Stated one of Julie's Gryffindor friends, who 

helped drag the girl upstairs to her room. Harry wore a blank look as he walked away and the common room door closed behind him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"CONSTANT VIGILENCE!" The Defense Against the Dark Arts professor Alastor Moody seemed satisfied as half the class fell off their seats at his outburst. The shocked –quite literally – Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors looked noticeably paler as Moody continued his lesson. 

"The **_Cremarus Curse_** is a rather modern development. Considered very powerful, very dark and very complex. This two-century-old curse has recently become more and more popular among the dark wizards and wizards. Now! Does anyone know anything about this curse?" As usual, only a select few hands went up, the most prominent one belonging to that of Hermione Granger. 

"Ms. Granger."

"The Cremarus Curse was invented or rather modified from a collection of earlier fire spells by the Dark Mage Tal Rasha in the late 18th century. Unlike any of the other fire curses, the Cremarus Curse burns completely and utterly, leaving behind only ashes in its wakes." Hermione's answer sent chills down the backs of the students. 

"10 points to Gryffindor for a correct answer, Ms. Granger." Acknowledged Professor Moody.

"Not only does the Cremarus Curse burn you completely, it also does so slowly and very painfully. The components of the curse target areas of neuro impulse, inflicting the maximum dosage of pain before killing the victim. When carefully controlled, the curse can last for over an hour on a human before actually killing him or her." Alastor carefully surveyed the horrified expressions of his students. 

"So how come not all dark wizards use it?" Asked a frightened Hufflepuff. 

"Because an enormous amount of magical energy as well as a powerful mind is required to cast the Cremarus, so most dark wizards avoid using the exhausting curse, preferring the **_Cruciatus Curse_** for pain or the Killing Curse for instant death, instead. This as you can is very fortunate for the Wizarding World in general." The students calmed down a bit, sighing in relief knowing that this curse would not be all that prevalent.

"But..." The class took a sharp breath. "Because of the double impact of pain and death, it has become a popular method for elite dark wizards to prove their abilities and power by using this curse, specifically on their worst enemies." Professor Moody eerily turned to look at Harry as he explained all this. The class turned to Harry, giving him a variety of strange looks.

"Are there any means of defense, or ways to reverse the effects of the curse, professor?"

"Yes, actually there are several *possible* ways, Mr. Thomas, which is why many dark wizards prefer the sure kill that the Unforgivable gives...well almost sure kill." Again, the professor rolled his magical eye to look at Harry. The Gryffindor 5th year fidgeted slightly, beginning to feel the effects of his classmates' stares.

"Anyway, the first and most common means of defense is simply a strong magical shield such as the **_Protectatus Shield_**. This is a very powerful and quite advanced shielding charm, which is used very often by the Aurors as the primary line of defense against a variety of curses. When backed by a sufficient amount of magic, this shield would be able to block the Cremarus Curse. Does anyone know of any other ways to block such a curse?" Asked Moody as he scanned the room with his magical eye. A few hands went up. 

"If it's a fire based spell, then couldn't you just conjure some water?" Asked a Hufflepuff student in the back. 

"Unfortunately no. The curse involves usage of the so called *Immortal Flame*." Answered Moody. The perplexed looks throughout the class prompted Alastor to explain. 

"The immortal flame is first documented by the muggles as something called the *Greek Fire*. A wizard gave this substance to the people of an ancient muggle empire called the Byzantines. They had used it in naval warfare to win victories over its enemies and the effects of the Greek Fire were documented in muggle history. The muggles, however, never learned the formula for their secret weapon as for only magical people could create it. Now does anyone know of the specific components of the immortal flame?" Asked Alastor Moody. As usual, that one definitive hand went up. 

"Ms. Granger?" 

"The immortal fire was created from studies of dragon flame, which was known to be unquenchable by normal water. By replicating this natural process within a dragon, wizarding scholars were able to create a fire that could not be put out by conventional means." The Gryffindor girl answered the question flawlessly and without hesitation. 

"Oh, bloody hell, the great Hermione Granger has done it again." Muttered Ronald Weasley lowly, coupled with a sigh of resignation, conceding to the fact that Hermione will always be... well Hermione. His friend glared back at him with a scowl.  

"Mr. Weasley, you may just find in the future that Ms. Granger's knowledge can become a great asset. Excellent work, Ms. Granger. Take ten for Gryffindor." Stated Alastor as he walked up to the two *arguing* friends. (The arguing referring to the impending comments that would be thrown back and forth at the end of class.)  

He may actually be right about that. Thought Harry to himself. He had always taken his friend's vast array of knowledge for granted. To be sure, her familiarity with the different subjects can be downright shocking at times. This makes her a very valuable ally... or a dangerous opponent. Harry's thoughts darkened as he realized all this historical information could very well create a biased and untrue image of him in her mind when he reveals himself. 

"I would like an 8 inch parchment on the other means of defense against the Cremarus Curse and the family of related curses. You can also write on the history of the curse from creation to present day usage for extra credit...class dismissed." The Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs quickly emptied the room, some moaning about the workload.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Having had caught the snitch in every single Quidditch match with the exception of one in the 2nd year due to an unpleasant encounter with some dementors, Harry had acquired naturally the image of being unstoppable and unbeatable. As a result, the latest news about how a certain Virginia Weasley had beaten the famed Gryffindor seeker became hot stuff very fast. The fact that it was a friendly Seeker match and that Harry had almost died trying to save Ginny was ultimately irrelevant. Using the fact that the girl is also Gryffindor, a Weasley and just happened to be joining the Gryffindor Quidditch team, the crafting Slytherins soon ran rampant rumors of how a certain Weasley is to be replacing the aging and now incompetent Harry Potter as seeker. 

All hell then broke loose during lunch. Harsh words and arguments sparked several clashes escalating to Anti- Potter and pro – Potter conflicts in the Great Hall, right in front of the teachers. It finally took a semi-teary oration from Ginny, who stated the facts to clear up the mess, before the professors managed to regain order. 

It would appear as everything returned to normal, but in truth, it was far from that. In the past, such wild rumors by Slytherins were completely ignored by the other houses. This time, surprisingly many Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs joined ranks against their "golden hero". Perhaps it was due to Harry's supposed connection with the death of Hufflepuff hero, Cedric Diggory and his former crush on Cho Chang, Cedric's girlfriend; or perhaps it was due to the inflammatory articles by the Daily Prophet regarding Harry's questionable character and mental stability; or both. Whatever the reason, Harry Potter's faltering *popularity* seemed quite ominous for him. No, it was not that Harry desired fame (heck, he even went out of his way to downplay his powers and role in history as Salazar Slytherin). No indeed, Harry was not as concerned about the fact that his fellow students - as well as wizarding world - is interested in using *him* as a scapegoat as he was of how it is interested in finding scapegoats in general *RATHER* than banding together to fight Voldemort.  

"Just ignore them, Harry." Stated Hermione simply as the trio walked out of the Great Hall. Harry sighed in frustration. Interestingly, the worst part of all this was that everyone kept on misinterpreting his reactions and feelings.

"That is none of your business, Malfoy." Came a stern voice from down the corridor. Harry turned to see a young girl exchanging harsh words with the slytherin crowd led by Draco Malfoy. Despite being surrounded by the towering figures of Malfoy's bodyguards, the girl looked supremely confident, which seemed to irritate the arrogant Slytherin student to no end. 

Harry looked closer and realized that the girl was none other than Julie Promman...well at least the girl that *looked* like Julie. But, from what he heard others say about her (all good things), the 4th year Gryffindor would never purposely antagonize another student like that, unless of course there was something else.  

"Yeah, shove off, Malfoy." Came the spiteful remark from another girl. The incensed slytherin whirled around to face the angry and determined form of Ginny Weasley. 

"Hey, listen you gryffindork, I ought to..." 

"You ought to what, Malfoy! Tell your mommy or is it papa for you!" Taunted Ron as he joined his sister. 

"Back off Weasel..." The blond boy sneered. Battle line was soon drawn as the two opposing sides were soon drawn into an all out glaring contest, intermixed with the occasional rude comment or two.

Finally, realizing that he wasn't going to get to the Gryffindors through Julie, the young Malfoy decided to change strategy. 

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Potty. Forgetting how to fly, are we. I mean now, you can't even fly away from the Dark Lord when he comes for you." Harry's friends intensified their glares on the sneering form of Draco Malfoy and the pose of snickering Slytherins. 

"Why you, lousy piece of filth..." Hermione quickly restrained Ron before he can bash the slimy Slytherin into then ground. This hallway encounter quickly attracted the attention of a crowd. 

"Hey, shut it Weasel. Maybe I'll even pay you a knut if you'll gravel before me." 

"Maybe you would like to..." The red-faced red head known as Ronald Weasley was interrupted mid-speech by a cold drawl. 

"20 points from Gryffindor for causing a scene in the hall." Potions master, Severus Snape stated calmly in the mist of furious Gryffindors. Despite their honorable traditions, it is doubtful if they wouldn't kill the prejudicial slytherin head of house right there and then if they were given the chance. 

"But, but, but..." Not even the usually clear-headed Hermione Granger could string a sentence together in their defense. 

"10 more for questioning a professor." The intelligent witch quickly shut up but was unable to cover the horrible redness in her cheeks. A variety of expressions crossed the shocked faces of the Gryffindors, ranging from simple amazement to pure, unadulterated rage. More than a few had gripped their wands so tightly that their face turned white. The Slytherins only laughed, sneered and taunted, adding to the Gryffindors' agitation. Finally a few members of the other two sympathetic houses managed to pull the Gryffindors away, reassuring them that their respective heads of house will deal with the incident.  Harry and the 4th year Gryffindor girl, Julie Promman, however, remained silent and stationary. 

The two shot calculated looks at each other, each not sure what to make of the other. Harry was finally pulled out of his thoughts as his friends called out to him to leave the Slytherin prats. As much as he hated it, Harry had to admit quite sadly too, that his Gryffindor *friends* were very correct, that indeed they –the Slytherins - were *prats*, and the most egotistical, arrogant, and blind prats he had EVER come into contact with.  Much to the surprise of the observers, Harry walked up to his potions professor. 

"What goes around comes around, professor. Do remember that..." 

Without waiting for a response, Harry walked away, not giving Professor Snape the chance to take off more points. The Slytherins watched their Gryffindor rival leave with a dazed expression and ...fear, but what was there to fear? 

That was the question Julie or rather Anastasia asked. It was hardly a threat or an ultimatum, carrying no superficial indications of harmful actions against anyone, yet there was something excessively dark and ominous about his words. The way Harry had said them was most definitely not pleasant. Even so, it should not have caused such agitation. but it did, why? Anastasia racked her brain as she watched the retreating figure of the Boy Who Lived, hero of the Light, savoir of the Wizarding World...

The First Vampire smiled slightly as her thoughts wandered slightly. While living in a secluded region, the vampire was hardly a hermit. She had regularly ventured out into the world and was well aware of Voldemort, his reign and his fall at the hands of Harry Potter. 

'Those who expected too much from others are bounded to be disappointed.' Salazar Slytherin had once told her. She knew sooner or later the Wizarding world will be disappointed in their golden hero... just like always. No one's perfect and perfection is what the simpletons of society wanted, expected and saw. The only reason, Godric Gryffindor was placed on a high pedestal and stayed there was because the public never saw the real Godric Gryffindor, the mortal human, who made mistakes and was as susceptible to the uncontrollable forces of nature as the next person. The greatest irony was that her deceased master Salazar Slytherin had been the one who allowed that to happen, allowed Godric to be a *legend* while he himself was compared by others to the lowest of the lows. It disgusted her...

"Miss. Promman, do you need an escort to class?" Questioned Snape coldly. His expressions clearly stated that a yes answer would undoubtedly result in deduction of house points and/or detention. 

"No, sir." Answered Anastasia coldly. The slytherins turned to look at the young black haired girl. This was the second time a supposedly goody two shoe Gryffindor sent chills down their backs. The girl proceeded to walk away, stopped midway, turned around and walked back to the Slytherins. 

"They say that the eyes of Slytherin are always watching... and judging..." The vampire mage looked away at first but turned to Draco Malfoy at the end of her statement. Again, without waiting for a reply, Julie Promman walked away with her friends, getting a few strange looks from them along the way. Lunch ended a few minutes ago, so the crowd of people quickly dispersed; everyone scrambling to get to their next class.  

"What was that all about?" Asked Hermione with a slight frown, still a tad upset over having lost points for their house. Harry shrugged nonchalantly and the issue was dropped. The boy walked silently with his friends as the two conversed with each other. Harry didn't mind. In fact, he dropped slightly behind the two to think. 

It was definitely an interesting turn of events. While none of his friends had heard Julie's statement because they were too far away, Harry had most certainly had. That simple reference clearly and definitively revealed the girl's identity to Harry, AKA Salazar Slytherin.

Anastasia The name ringed familiarly in his mind. Of course... if anyone knew him, it would have to be Anastasia von Hollenstein, one of his most brilliant, most successful and most powerful pupils and later a very close friend – yes, contrary to popular belief, most labeled dark wizards did have friends. 

In any case, the aristocratic girl was a rare find. She had been raised in luxury and refinement before losing it all, so it had shocked Salazar initially when she did not live in the past so to speak or implore for sympathy like so many other spoiled youngsters. 

As his pupil, she was, quite frankly, an absolute genius and natural especially in the branches of magic that are known now days as the dark arts. But unlike so many others Anastasia never abused her tremendous powers. What is more, the powerful witch and later mage and readily joined him upon completing her training which delighted her lord (yes, delighted, though he didn't sure it outright).  

She was bright and confident, but not overly snobbish; powerful, energetic, and assertive but not war hungry or malicious; crafted, cunning, and loyal but not overly so to the point of crazed vengefulness or fanatical obsession. In short, Anastasia represented in person the very epitome of both what Salazar wanted to cultivate and what he hoped for:

Thus, it was a grievous blow when Anastasia had been turned by a vampire. 

Despite all his powers, abilities and understanding of magic at the fundamental level... Salazar could do nothing to reverse the effect for his most loyal follower and friend. Harry thought sadly for a second. It was one of the times when he had realized the limitations to his powers.  

A smile tucked at the edged of his mouth as he thought more about it. Of course, the most powerful wizard, second perhaps only to Godric - and that's only in straight out combat and duels -, was astounded once again by Anastasia's resilience and strength. Needless to say, she lost neither her humanity nor humility despite the change in *species*. The vampire mage quickly proved herself capable of continued service and won almost universal respect from friends and foe alike. Therefore, Harry was not totally caught off by the fact that Anastasia was presently the reigning First Vampire, as informed by the Orb of Knowledge.

I suppose it ended being a good thing. Thought Harry as he contemplated on how he was going to reveal himself to his old student and friend. 

************************************************************************

Just so that there's no mistake about it. This is NOT a HARRY/ANASTASIA story. 


	5. The Serpentine Order

**Chapter 5: The Serpentine Order **

****The Next Morning*****

"So, Harry how's Snuffles?" Asked Ron casually as he stuffed his face in with eggs and bacon... as usual. 

"He's good, though he says he's contacting the *old crowd*." Answered Harry in a similar manner. Ever since the beginning of 5th year, when Voldemort made his presence known, Snuffles has been keeping Harry on a leash (no pun intended); sending owl posts one day and dispatching Remus to Hogwarts in disguise every other day. It had warmed Harry to know that he had such a caring godfather, but now, a part of him wonders what will happen.

"Are they really planning to attack?" Ron leaned over so that only Harry and Hermione could hear the question. The red head was referring to the anti-Voldemort league organized by Headmaster Dumbledore, which included Harry's godfather.  

"Where's Professor Dumbledore, anyway? He's not here at breakfast." Hermione pointed out the obvious absence of the headmaster from the head table. But before anyone can answer, the professor appeared from the side door. Though physically old, the wizened wizard had always carried that aura of youthful hope, which shaved off at least a couple of decades from his features. The students and faculty members saw none of that radiance as Dumbledore mounted the podium. His legs sagged as if held down by a ton of lead; his eyes void of that benevolent twinkle. It was not long before the majority of the student body quieted down. Looks of confusion, surprise greeted the headmaster as well as an undeniable sense of forebodingness settled in the great hall. 

Then the daily mails arrived... dozens upon dozens of black furred owls, standard messengers of the Ministry of Magic, flew with deathly gracefulness into the great hall, dropping their mails. A universal chorus of cries of anguish, sorrow and terror engulfed the entire hall. Harry watched as several of his fellow Gryffindors try to keep recipients of the mail from dropping to the ground in shock.  

So, first there was shock, then sorrow, then hate, and then the members of the Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff houses saw the Slytherin tables, _where not a single black owl dropped such an envelop_... If only looks could kill, the slytherin house would have ceased to exist. 

"Those bastards! Those Slytherins! They did this... they killed..." 

"Calm down, Walter. They didn't do anything." Stated a fellow student, trying to be rational... "Their parents did." only to give in to spite. 

Harry blocked out the rest of the conversation. He didn't need to know to understand the student's reaction.

"I see that some of you already know of what has happened." Started Dumbledore with a heavy voice. 

"It is with great sadness that I inform you all of the terrible event that took place last night. At approximately 11 o'clock local time, Westminster, London came under an all out Death Eater attack, led by Lord Voldemort himself." The headmaster ignored the visible flinches and gasps of the student body and his teachers as he continued. 

"Aurors soon arrived on scene, but it was an ambush. Both muggles and wizards died in great numbers as the dark wizards attack indiscriminately. More fell to the hordes of dark creatures unleashed minutes later. As of now, the death count has topped 300, including some 40 Aurors, hit wizards, and other ministry officials who fell, fighting against overwhelming odds. The muggles government has seen it as either a major terrorist attack and has declared Marshal Law in London. As of now, the ministry is attempting to erase the memories of key muggles and supplement an acceptable story." Muffled sobs echoed through out the halls. The echoes give the effect that the castle itself was crying as well. 

"It is my understanding that many of you have lost fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, relatives and friends in that battle. And to you, I give my most heartfelt condolences. I ask fellow students to reach out to one another and help those who have lost loved ones. My office will always be open and please feel free to speak with your head of house and teachers. Classes will be canceled for today. But before you all leave, I ask everyone to rise and give a moment of silence to honor those who have died." The entire student population rose unanimously... almost unanimously that is, with the exception of a select few Slytherins. 

Minutes later, a morbid student body deserted the great halls. More than a few required the assistance of friends to move.  

"Good God, Albus. Three hundred..." Professor McGonagall gasped, letting the shock set in. 

"Quite so, and I am afraid that this will not be the last of such battles." Answered Albus darkly, recalling memories of the gruesome battles last night. There is no longer any time to lose, he must act, here and now, and make preparations for the coming war. 

Little did the current headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry know of the impending events and changes that would rock the Wizarding world.   

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Are you alright, Ginny?" Julie asked her fellow roommate who seemed to be in some sort of a trance. The red head next to her broke out of her dazed expression to say one thing. 

"Huh?"

"Are you okay?" Repeated Julie. A small Gryffindor guard accompanied the red headed girl, who had received not one, not two, but three of those fateful envelopes. For the first time, the Weasley girl looked up to see that almost a dozen people were looking at her with concern. 

"Oh, yeah, I am fine. I am actually grateful. Both my dad and brothers were hurt pretty badly, but they are alive, thank god. The letters just said that they were sent to St. Mungo's for treatment." Ginny gave a small smile of gratification. Her friends looked much relieved at this, both from knowing their friend didn't lose a family member, and from knowing that not all of those envelopes necessarily start with the words, "it is with great sadness...". 

"GINNY!" Suddenly, the figure of one, a huffing and puffing Harry Potter appeared before the small entourage of 4th year Gryffindor. 

"Your family's alright." He cried out before she could respond. 

"I know... I opened the letters." Ginny smiled back hesitantly.

"Thank god!" Smiled Harry at first, but his expression darkened as he mentioned what happened to Ron.

"Ron almost fainted when the owl dropped three envelopes before him. We got him to the infirmary, though." Which would explain why the boy was so out of breath. Seeing the look of shock on the Weasley girl's face, Harry quickly added:

"He's fine now after Hermione managed to persuade him that all his relatives are still alive after having read the letter. They are keeping him in a quiet area so he could get some rest." Everyone looked at Ginny as if to gauge her reaction.

"Maybe you should get some rest too, Ginny. You can visit your brother in the morning." One of her friends suggested. 

"Oh, okay, I guess that would be a good idea." Agreed Ginny as she walked towards Gryffindor tower with some of her friends. 

"Thanks Harry for coming to tell me." The red blush on the girl's cheeks, no matter how minute, did not go unnoticed. Several of the girl's female friends grinned and giggled as Harry waved goodbye. 

"Hi, Harry Potter, right?" It was more as a conversation starter than a question. The black haired friend of Ginny and supposedly rescued Gryffindor 4th year, Julie Promman AKA Anastasia von Hollenstein stood before Harry. 

"Yes, that is my name as far as I know." Answered Harry good-naturedly. He had casually observed the First Vampire systematically scanning everyone who had been in the Gryffindor common room. Undoubtedly, she's attempting to scan him right now, which to the credit of Harry's mental shields would yield nothing, except maybe further suspicion. 

Well, if that's the way she wants to play.

"You are Julie Promman, right?" Asked Harry with disguised surprise and concern. She was after all supposed to be physically and mentally drained and possibly unstable. 

"Yes, and if you are wondering, I am quite alright, now, though sleep for the last couple of nights has not been easy." Julie put up a grimace to illustrate this, but moved on quickly.  

"Very nice to meet you, though." Stated Julie. The slits in her eyes narrowed slightly as Harry felt a flash of magic flowing around him. What the girl found undoubtedly confused her. Perhaps it might have made her suspect that he was indeed Salazar if it weren't for the fact that he was...well Harry Potter.  

At the same moment, Harry felt a sudden magical disturbance or surge. The Gryffindor cringed his neck to look at the girl's left hand, specifically the finger that seems to be pulsing magic. He immediately identified it as a sublime form of magical communication transmitted through a ring. She was being contacted by someone, most likely a follower. Anastasia quickly hid her hand behind her back while wearing an unchanging facial expression. 

"I better be going now." Stated Julie quickly. 

"See you around." Acknowledged Harry as he watched her turn and leave. He allowed a brief smile. The First Vampire would need a safe location to meet with her contactors. As it was, the only such place in Hogwarts was the Chamber of Secrets... his Chamber of Secrets.

That night...

If any normal person was to enter the Chamber of Secrets, chances were very slim that he would ever leave. The reason was simply that if the mist of hypnotizing and yet choking aroma of magic did not kill the intruder outright, the powerful wizards and witches in the room would most certainly have. 

"My lady, Tal Rasha reports widespread success in locating followers here in magical Britain. Plans have already been drawn up to bring loyal followers into Magical Britain for the upcoming war as well as have certain members seize key and influential positions in the British Ministry." Reported a cold voice. The words seemed old and decayed, dead, more or less. 

"... but ONLY if it is made absolutely clear that Lord Slytherin has indeed been reborn. We would be committing our resources irreversibly should we carry out these plans..." Answered another. The tall and looming figures seemed to be crowded around a much shorter character, who was at least a foot lesser in height. 

"I am well aware of that. Lord Slytherin has indeed been reborn. That much I am sure of." Replied a much more soothing and human voice. 

"My lady?" The others looked puzzled. 

"Someone tried to scan me when I first entered the Gryffindor common room. I had used an ancient form of mental and magical shielding, taught and specialized by none other than Lord Slytherin, himself. Only he could have sensed it and thus attempt to penetrate it. He's a Gryffindor student..." Stated the leader with supreme confidence. 

"Are you sure?" Salazar Slytherin; Serpentine King, former Dictator Lord of the Council of Doom and Mage of multiple disciplines, evil wizard of the first degree (by default and image if not by reality) ... a *Gryffindor* student. The entire group was confounded to say the least. The fact that these *vampires* looked *surprised* even if it was just a bit said something about the peculiarity of the situation.    
  


"Absolutely..." Confirmed the vampire queen.

And oh so ironic... She added in an after thought. Her subordinates and fellow fledglings looked at each other with mirrored looks of strange dismay. 

"However, there is one thing." This quieted everyone down, causing them to place their focus back on the First Vampire. 

"I have scanned every single person that were in that room; and I found something peculiar about that 5th year Gryffindor boy, Harry Potter. I am unable to get any kind of reading from him." The First Vampire looked rather hesitant as she said this as if double-checking to see if she didn't make a mistake in her estimation or something. 

A sort of cold, sharp silence descended on the room as the vampires processed what their leader had said. 

Being the worldly knowledgeable beings they were, the vampires were willing to accept rationally the fact that Fate may be toying with them by reincarnating Lord Slytherin as a Gryffindor student. But, there was no hell way on earth, heaven or...HELL that they would be persuaded that their lord was presently occupying the form of Harry Potter, hero of the Wizarding world. It was not that Slytherin was too evil to be a fighter for the people, no. In fact, Salazar Slytherin probably did more for the general benefit of the Wizarding world than any other wizard (KEY NOTE: This does not implicitly mean that Slytherin was a light wizard.) including Godric Gryffindor. Rather it was simply the horrible irony such a realty would mean. After all, the reincarnation of Slytherin... being the prodigy and character representation of Gryffindor...

How the group maintained its tranquility could possibly be attributed to the innate calmness of these undead wizards, or it could be attributed to the unknown intruder who stepped forward, which quickly grabbed their attention. 

"Interesting gathering you got here." The figure said simply, with a hint of amusement. The vampires did not pause to ask questions. Three dozen curses began flying across the room before the man even finished his sentence. The shrieks of the fired spells were followed by the echoes of these same spells as they bounced off the walls of the Chamber of Secrets. The half a dozen or so vampire wizards and witches stared with quirked eyebrows as the figure stood unharmed before them, protected by a bright red shield. Granted, not one of the vampire wizards or witches used the Avada Kedavre, but no normal wizard of this day and age should have been able to block the combination of spells that was fired.  

"**_Adligo Funditus_**" Thick tree branches suddenly shot from the ground, catching all the vampires with the exception of the First Vampire in their vice grips. The vampires attempted to free themselves, but found the branches to be remarkably resilient even against their superhuman strength. Suddenly, several of the trapped vampires let out a shriek of pain. Apparently, the branches were also magically charmed to prevent one from overpowering the chains with one's magic. 

Anastasia looked a bit miffed. It was a very rare spell, one that not even all of her fledglings have seen before, which could explain their surprise and lack of immediate response. It was an advanced spell, with vague similarities to the Devil's Snare. However, where as the simple Devil's Snare constricts, the binding branches sap the captured person's magical energy. It doesn't matter whether or not the prisoner struggles, though it would only hasten the process for one to do so. For normal vampires, that would have been the end of it since they would not be able to call upon raw strength or power to free themselves, but alas these were vampire wizards. 

"**_Exsolvo_**"

****

"**_Relinquo_**" All of the vampires managed to free themselves from the ensnaring forest branches sooner or later through various techniques, though in some cases, the dissipated branches dropped them rather unceremoniously on the floor.

The First Vampire was a bit miffed. Simple as these spells may seem to her, the incantation was nevertheless considered very advanced in general. Not only was it complex and powerful, it was also a spell no human mind could perform. Indeed, the Adligo Funditus was an Elvin spell, specialized by the forest dwellers, so unless the human is a mage, he couldn't possibly have known it much less caste it. The fact that this man managed to do it deep inside a castle, far from trees and forests, which the spell draws its power from, made Anastasia all the more conscious of how powerful a being she's dealing with. 

"Wait." She quickly motioned her companions back. Perhaps, the intruder would be open to a diplomatic solution rather than a fight.  

"Who are you?" She asked. The man in the shadow chucked in amusement as he stood before the light, which revealed the natural complications of a teenaged boy perfectly. 

"Harry." It was a statement rather than a question; one designed to ensure that her eyes were not deceiving her.  

"Yes in some ways, but no in others." The young Harry Potter moved forward to mere inches from the cluster of vampires with very much exaggerated casualness.  

"Do you not recognize me?" The Gryffindor asked, his smile refusing to diminish. The boy brought his hands forward, holding a shimmering staff. The three and a half magical weapon was richly decorated with archaic engravings. The imprint of snake coiled around its body left little doubt in the minds of Anastasia and her fellow vampires of who he was. 

"It's good to see you again, Anastasia." Harry's eyes suddenly blazed a bright red as he talked, but it was not by any means similar to the infernal hate that burned in the eyes of dark wizards like Voldemort. No, there was a certain feeling of warmth and familiarity in those eyes, eyes of understanding and knowledge. The girl suddenly felt overpowered by the presence of her former teacher, lord and... Friend. Anastasia von Hollenstein, feared First Vampire, crumpled to the ground, bowing her head before this human, causing her already confused subordinates to stumble in shock. The vampire would have cried in joy had she been able to do so.

Harry Potter or rather Salazar Slytherin in the present body of one, Harry Potter, placed both hands on the kneeing form before him and gently but raised her forward. 

"The last time I saw you, you were still only a young fledging! Look at you now... First Vampire...!" The exchange of words between the two had every marking of a family union, and indeed, it was very much like one. Salazar Slytherin had treated Anastasia almost like the family he never had... as much as his status as a "dark wizard" allowed him to. It was likewise for the young Anastasia.    

"My lady?" Finally, one brave vampire ventured to pose a question. The First Vampire wore a smile of extreme satisfaction as she waved him off casually. 

"Ladies and gentlemen, I would first like to introduce you to the greatest practitioner of magic of all time..."

"...**Lord Salazar Slytherin**." The simply statement, neither whispered or shouted, nevertheless broadcasted itself like a seismograph during a level 10 earthquake. Several of the vampires, realizing the importance of the words, quickly dropped to their knees with bowed heads to show their respect. The rest soon followed, while pushing the unusually high numbers of questions out of their mind for the time being.  

*****Somewhere in Eastern Europe*****

"No, please, mercy, mercy, I beg of you!" Cried the man kneeling, wailing pathetically in a fruitless attempt to save his own life. Bodies of those who resisted the group to the end, littered the terrain around him. Around half a dozen wizards and witches in strange battle cloaks and uniforms formed a circle around the kneeling man, looked on with indifference. One of the men of the group stood before the group, presenting himself before the man as the leader, the leader of this group of unknown warriors, which was able to cut down a Death Eater force twice its size without taking a single casualty.       

"No mercy can be shown to those who showed none to others. You should have learned that when you entered this profession." The man gave only a dreary answer as he started collecting energy into a shimmering light before him. 

"**_Crucifictus Maximus_**" The Death Eater dropped to the ground after screaming in agonizing pain. Another wizard came forward and kicked the fallen Death Eater in a none too gentile fashion. 

"Dead, sir." The wizard informed. The man sneered derisively. 

"No back bone whatsoever." Was the mage's scant evaluation of the now deceased Death Eater's performance in combat and after combat. Those around him were inclined to agree as the group started to clean up the area (i.e. hiding their magical signatures as well as those of the spells they used). Within half an hour, these mysterious figures had methodically eliminated all presence of the bloody struggle that had taken place including the bodies. 

"Let's go." Ordered the leader. Half dozen pop resounded as the group disappeared, leaving only the silence of the night. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**What Now?**

You-Know-Who attacks Westminster, London

350 dead and counting...

_By Jonathan Loggs_

Yesterday, You Know Who and his Death Eater army instigated the most horrific attack to date on Westminster, the muggle federal government center in London. No less than 70 Death Easters were reported on scene at any given time. "They were waiting for us." Said Auror Divisional Commander, Marcus Lefton. The 17 Aurors sent at the beginning of the battle were reportedly ambushed as they apparated there by Death Eaters, who promptly surrounded an area of approximately one mile in radius with anti-apparation wards cutting off retreat and reinforcements. Ministry Aurors, Hit Wizards and Order of the Phoenix members fought throughout the night to recapture London. 

"There were bodies littered all over the place and you could smell the stench and decay of death. It was absolutely revolting. Makes you want to lose your dinner." Exclaimed Mr. Lefton. The veteran Auror since the Dark Lord's first rise was not alone in showing disgust at the gruesome scene. It is noted that air purification charms had to be set up when the clean up crew arrived.  

Commander Lefton added in an after thought. 

"We really owe the Order members big time. If they haven't come, the losses could have been much higher..." The Order refers to the illustrious Order of the Phoenix led by Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts Magical School. The aged wizard had defeated the Dark Wizard Grindelwald in the 50's and is now taking charge of the effort against You Know Who as well as running the ancient educational institution.  

As response to this latest attack, which has left hundreds dead and was only barely defeated, a calling rang up at the Ministry for drastic action. Inside sources say that there is argument within the Ministry to reactivate the _Defense Acts_ of some two decades ago. Those who lived under You Know Who's first rise to power might recall Mr. Crouch Sr., then head of the Department of Magical Law, who gave Aurors unilateral powers in hunting down followers of the Dark Lord. In light of recent events, a growing percentage of the Wizarding population has come to support these harsh but necessary measures. Strong opposition still exists, mainly in the form of the present Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge. Though, support is waning for the minister, whose present failure in the war against He Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, is coupled with his past errors of not only failing to heed warnings of the Dark Lord's rise, but went so far as to suppress them. There is even strong suspicion that there might be a successful vote of no confidence, which would oust Fudge from power. 

Until then, the Wizarding world can only pray and hope that someone can stop this madness. 

......General Solarius folded the news article. Since his area of activity was in Eastern Europe, not Western, Solarius is not usually too concerned about activities in such far away places. However, in the recent year, it appeared to him that this rising Dark Lord in Magical Britain, one who called himself Lord Voldemort, is becoming more and more like his old master, Grindelwald. 

Solarius's eyes flared as he thought about the ugly scar-faced piece of manure that he used to call his master. He had been young (relatively speaking) and impetus and was easily caught in the web of lies fabricated by the said wizard. In truth, he had believed in Grindelwald, believed in the prejudice, believed in his call for war and indiscriminate violence. How could he have been so stupid? Solarius laughed a cruel cold laugh. Blinded by the crafty and treacherous dark lord, he had even gladly accepted command of the wizard's field armies. But... in the end, Solarius was at least consoled by the fact that at least he got away before it was too late, unlike so many of his contemporaries. 

Next to the horrors of war and the destruction he brought to others, Grindelwald also destroyed the potentials of so many of his followers, dooming all those who joined him. (Solarius himself being one of the prime exceptions) Similarly, Voldemort is doing just that; forcing his followers to believe that death, destruction, chaos and war is not just one of the means to power, prestige and change, but the only means. What is more sickening is that he's doing it to Slytherin House students of Hogwarts, the cream of the crop that had been Salazar Slytherin's pride a millennia ago. 

"General Solarius." The sound of that name brought the said person out of his dream like trance. 

"Urgent message from Lady von Hollenstein. The First Vampire has called an emergency council meeting with all members in Scotland. You will be informed of the specifics shortly, but until then you are *recommended* not to leave the castle." Informed a vampire emissary as he suddenly appeared out of thin air. Decked out in midnight blue and black robes and battle cloak, this vampire was undoubtedly one of Lady von Hollenstein's elite, a vampire mage perhaps. The accent placed on the word "recommended" and the vampire's stoic stance showed that such recommendation was in fact obligatory. Of course General Solarius would ever defy the First Vampire by refusing to attend a council's meeting without reason... but he was nevertheless intensely interested in what this was all about.

"What's going on?" Asked General Solarius. The First Vampire rarely called council meeting and never did so without warning. Something was definitely up. The veteran mage cocked his head sideways to look at the informant. With a human, Solarius would normally have been able to decipher from the person's facial expressions what was left unsaid. But alas, the person who spoke was neither normal nor human for that matters, so Solarius was left in the dark. 

"Sir, I can neither verify nor deny the validity of this, but rumor has it that the Slytherin scorch stone glowed and that Salazar Slytherin was reborn somewhere is northern Great Britain just a few days ago." Stated someone from within his ranks. 

"What!?" The wizard known as General Solarius shouted in surprise, turning to look at his follower sharply. There have been more than enough false calls of the rebirth the great wizard throughout the last century to make the man just a bit suspicious. He turned to his vampire messenger again seeking some kind of a response, an involuntary flinch, a twitch in the brows, stiffness in the knuckles, anything that would suggest either an affirmation or rejection of what his follower said. The mage got neither. 

"Very well, I shall wait here." Sighed Solarius. The vampire seemed satisfied and disappeared back into the shadows he came from. The mage propped himself on one of the chairs and killed time discussing strategy with his followers. 

Half an hour later, a witch dressed in blue satin robes flowed into the room. 

"Good evening, Arcturnus. I congratulate you on your successes in Eastern Europe." Greeted the new arrival warmly or rather as warmly as possible given the bleak and deathly nature of the castle. 

"Thank you, Celia." Answered Solarius aka Arcturnus in kind. 

"Though somehow I doubt you are here just to celebrate my accomplishments." Added the male mage in after thought.

"Indeed, I am not. If we could be alone please." Said Celia eying Arcturnus's followers. 

"Ah, yes of course. You are all dismissed." Ordered Arcturnus nonchalantly. The present collection of wizards and witched bowed in acknowledgment and dispersed without question. They learned long ago not to their place in this ancient order. Once the two were alone, Celia turned to look at Solarius sternly. 

"The rumor regarding our lord is for real this time, Arcturnus. Lady von Hollenstein has personally gone to Scotland to investigate. Tal Rasha is gathering supporters in England as well as organizing an expeditionary force to support our sphere of influence there." 

"Is that so?" Solarius still looked skeptical. "Then, how is that you did not foresee this?" 

"His lordship's powers are beyond my comprehension and thus his presence can not be accurately predicted by me." The seer answered truthfully, fully acknowledging her incapacity in this case - a rare occurrence indeed for the greatest seer of the century.  

"In any case, your questions and doubts will be answered shortly at the meeting. So let us not keep the others waiting, shall we?" The witch tossed a small cylindrical water bottle – a portkey no doubt – on the ground before Solarius. She did not bother to explain anything more before apparating away, no doubt to the meeting place. Still hesitant but yet strangely excited, Solarius stooped down to pick up the bottle and was instantly transported thousands of miles away to a clear field in northern Britain...

"Ah, General Solarius, so good of you to join us." Beamed a mage dressed in imperial purple. 

"Tal Rasha, good to see you as well." Answered Solarius. "I trust that I did not miss anything?"  
  


"No, the _sentinels_ have just finished putting up all the necessary defense wards. Lady von Hollenstein does not want to take any chances, especially if Lord Slytherin is to be present." Solarius turned and saw various wizards and witches; the_ sentinels - as they are called - busy putting up charmed shields and wards._

"So, the rumors are true, he... is alive and here..." Stated the mage slowly to his companion, still not believing it completely. 

"Oh yes, of course. That is the whole point of this meeting I suppose. Lady von Hollenstein would like our lord to see how far we have... come." There was a slight hesitation as Tal Rasha said the last part, changing the tone on the last word so that it came off as mildly sarcastic. 

Solarius was not surprised. Anyone with a definitive and accurate knowledge of history would have realized that Slytherin's methods of learning have diminished over the years as talented wizards increasingly succumbed to the more evil teachings and temptations of magic. His image has been defamed and his chief tenants and beliefs have been desecrated by centuries of misinterpretation, misuse and abuse by the masses who profess to be his heirs, students and followers. It was... disgusting and perhaps even sad how Fate and History have conspired to ruin Salazar Slytherin and his legacy.

"Do not dwell on past thoughts." Tal Rasha's abrupt remark cut into Solarius's thought causing him to turn to look at the man. 

"We are about to be blessed with the presence of Lord Slytherin, himself, it is better for us to look to the future." Offered the Arch Mage with what could vaguely be interpreted as a reassuring smile. 

"Perhaps, but have you ever wondered... like if Grindelwald had never risen..." 

"Or like if Riddle had not been a wizard, perhaps?" Added Tal Rasha. Solarius nodded in perfect understanding. What happened to Tom Marvolo Riddle - the metamorphosis to Voldemort - epitomized more than anything else everything Slytherin tried to prevent from happening. _His entire system of education, of infusing talented and potentially powerful wizards with magic was to give them *FULL * control of their powers, so that their powers will not control them_. In a way, Riddle or rather Voldemort represented everything that could possibly go wrong within a process. But more importantly, he also brought forth the fallibility of being human and the corruptive nature of power. 

As an old saying goes: "_Power leads to corruption, and absolute power corrupts absolutely_." And Slytherin showed others the secret to such absolute power, whether it be physical, magical, mental or psychological. He did it through his school; he did it through his books; and he continued to do it through his legacy. So, in a way, Salazar Slytherin *_could_* be blamed for the appearance of people like Voldemort. But if that was the case, then he must also be credited for the untold numbers of wizards, witches, mages, sorceresses and others, whom he kept from the grasping hands of power and of eternal darkness, which would bring damnation to one's soul beyond the gates of hell. And that is excluding the number of innocent lives that must have been saved from the lack of such hellish historical figures.

Such wistful thoughts are rare for realists such as Tal Rasha and Solarius, but they are nonetheless appropriate in this case. After all, even dark wizards dream sometimes and believe it or not, their lives would be a hell lot easier right now without Voldemort around.  

"Gentlemen, the council awaits your presence." Came a drool voice, breaking the two's train of thoughts.

"Of course." Answered Tal Rasha as he, flanked by Solarius, filed behind the messenger that came to get them. 

The two were led to the center of the field, which was enclosed in another series of opaque shields and wards. An addition ring of sentinels formed themselves around the defenses to prevent non-council members from entry. Without casting so much as a glance at the stiff-necked sentinels, the two stepped through the shields.

The council members twisted their faces to meet those of the Arch Mage and High Summoner. One feminine figure with strands of flowing blond hair moved towards the two. Her vampire features - protracted fangs and pale skin – were distinguishable in the gleaming rays of light but not suffocating or repulsive like some of her less amicable contemporaries.   

"Tal Rasha, General Solarius, good, both of you are here." The cool feminine voice greeted the two. 

"Lady von Hollenstein..." Said General Solarius as he answered the vampire back, arching a small bow as a show of respect. The First Vampire tilted her head slightly in acknowledgement. 

"I believe all of you have heard the rumors that have been circulating and have a fairly good idea of what will happen today. So without further ado, allow me to introduce Lord Salazar Slytherin himself." 

A mist of green smoke appeared out of nowhere and out walked a slender figure decked in the black uniform robes of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The person wasn't exceptionally tall or domineering in appearance and was merely a boy by all rights. Members of the council were perplexed. Confusion soon gave way to shock as they saw the lightning bolt etched on the boy's forehead. 

"Harry Potter?!" 

Harry Potter, what the heck is this? Thought quite a few astonished people, which quickly gave way to out bursts of language. The boy simply looked amused while the First Vampire glared at the members for this display of lack of respect. Only Harry's hand gesture for restraint kept Anastasia from firing pain curses at everyone. 

"Allow me to demonstrate..." Stated Harry simply. Slowly, but surely, the boy amidst the towering dark wizards and witches began working the magic around him. The ground trembled and the air vibrated with suppressed energy. Tentacles of rare magic lashed out from Harry's form. The First Vampire, who stood closest to *Harry Potter* managed to put up a powerful shield to shield herself from the attack. Most of the other council members made similar precautions as multicolored shields sprouted around everyone. However, for the few who were too fazed and stunned to defend themselves or created the shield too late, the result was not pleasant.  

General Solarius winced as the man beside him was sent rearing backwards as a powerful shockwave shattered his shield. The force of the blow propelled him straight into the magical protection dome surrounding the area. Only a hastily caste magic shield supplemented with a bouncy spell prevented his body from being split into atoms by the protection shield. Several council members including Solarius and Tal Rasha cautiously maneuvered to assist the wounded wizard. Solarius and Rasha then connected each other's shield to encompass the fallen wizard, while the Prophetess Celia healed the man of all critical injuries. If there was anyone who thought only the good guys know the meaning of the words "team work", that person didn't know how blind and wrong he was.  

Seeing that he had made his point, Harry returned the flow of magic back to normal. What he did – bending the normal neutral magic in the air to be volatile - wasn't exceptionally difficult. In fact, most of everyone there could do it, though perhaps not as well as he can. It was the psychological shock got to everyone. None there, except Anastasia had predicated that Harry would have been able to do that. Hence, no one put enough force or magic into his or her shield to block the wild magic Harry released.  

Smirking slightly, he made his way to the large group of people surrounding the most wounded wizard. If one could ignore the seriousness of the situation, it almost seems entertaining to see the most powerful wizards and witches of the age cowing before the Boy Who Lived. 

"I trust that that was enough to convince you." It's quite mean how he's enjoying all of this, but Harry by all standards is still a teenager physically and as playful as the next one. He felt that there was nothing wrong with scaring all these so-called dark wizards and witches a little bit.

"Of course, my lord." Answered Tal Rasha as he answered in a kneeled position. Others followed suit in kneeling, but kept silent, not trusting their quavering voices to answer. There was no doubt who this boy before them was. 

"Very good." Commented Harry. The boy looked at the weak form of the injured wizard - the one whose shield he had shattered - as he struggled with movement. Celia's healing spells only kept the man from dying. They did little to mend the body or ease the pain. Harry extended his hands and directed a gold ball of energy into him. The man gasped at first, but quickly became aware of the total reacquisition of all his bodily functions, which were also totally unhindered by pain. The man muttered a soft thank you, which Harry generously accepted.

Stunned looks circulated around the council. Everyone had been aware of the fact that Slytherin was an unconventional dark wizard, but nothing prepared them for this. After all, any other dark wizards **cough** Voldemort **cough** would have had the injured man killed and said "good riddance to bad garbage" for his inability to put up even a good shield.   

"May I present the **High Council of the Serpentine Order**." Introduced the First Vampire. Granted it wasn't a great name, but it was better than what it used to be. 

"Don't be too shocked. Please rise." Commanded Harry to what would be his most powerful followers in this era.  

"Now, being dead for about 1000 years, I don't think I know most of you here." Said Harry, clearly showing his interest in the collection of personnel assembled before him. The council members looked hesitant but several brave souls approached to introduce themselves.

First up was a medium height, blue haired witch, dressed in flowery satin robes, which bellowed in the wind. She carried a pale and almost translucent complexion.

"Celia Charibdus, Prophetess, Healer and Mind Mage. Pleased to make your acquaintance, my lord." Said the witch in a soft, gentle voice, one that was often used in other circumstances to send others into hypnotic sleep or dream like trance similar to the Imperious. The witch bowed with lowered head to express sign of subordination. 

"The honor is mine." Answered Harry. A slight look of surprise registered across the others' faces. Since when did full fledging dark lords claim it was "their pleasure" to meet their subordinates.

So the ceremony of introduction went on until General Solarius walked before Harry. A small smile curled around Anastasia's face as he did so. 

"Julianus Arcturnus, Necromancer and High Summoner, my lord." Stated the mage with absolute calmness, a contrast to the slight tinge of excitement and or fear that existed in the voice of all previous speakers. 

"More often known as General Solarius." Interjected the First Vampire. "May I present our resident Necromancer. It's actually a miracle for us to be blessed with the presence of such a powerful wizard." 

Several people chuckled. 

"Lady von Hollenstein's statement is a bit of an exaggeration my lord. Many others have served better and longer than I have." Answered the mage without showing signs of being inflated by the praise. 

"Perhaps, but I think you deserve *some* recognition for having resisted Grindelwald." Commented Harry. "Glad to have you here, Solarius."  

The light humor in the physically diminutive, but magically powerful wizard did much to put everyone at ease. It was perhaps one of the advantages of retaining one's humanity, something many other dark wizards failed to see the importance of. 

"And of course there's Arch Mage Tal Rasha of the Rasha family." Added Anastasia as the illustrious mage walked before Lord Slytherin. Harry's eyes lid up slightly. 

"It's a great honor to meet you in person, my lord." Like the others, Tal Rasha took the ceremonious bow. 

Just from the mage's ceremonial dress, Harry was able to get an inkling to the man's power. The purple cloak bore ancient Imperial Rome design, while the overlapping symbols and markings indicated his mastery over quite a few branches of magic.  

"You are Rah Rasha's grandson are you not?" Asked the black haired boy once the mage stood upright again.

"Great grandson actually." A small smile tucked at Tal Rasha's lips. It no doubt pleased him that Lord Slytherin remembered his family's name. 

"Ah yes, of course. Your great grandfather was a very close associate of mine, talented, insightful and of course powerful." Harry's eyes glazed over as he recalled the old days. 

"Yes, my lord. I will endeavor to uphold my family's name and honor." Came Tal Rasha's immediate reply. 

"Of course, I know, but I think that you have succeeded quite nicely already." Smiled Harry. Indeed, Tal Rasha has apparently made quite a big impact on history, big enough for the Orb of Knowledge to compose a whole biography on him.

After the introduction, there was a series of informative discussions on some recent topics, the most important one being Voldemort's rise. It was after a few minutes that Harry realized that he needed to know more about what has happened since his death before he could make any kind of important decisions. 

"Rowena's Orb of Knowledge was quite helpful in providing me with the crucial events of the last millennia, but it would appear that I would need a **_mind fusion_** to know the rest." Stated Harry looking right at Anastasia. Everyone saw this and everyone knew what it meant.

"So, until then, I am leaving things as they are now. Lady von Hollenstein and I will remain at Hogwarts to prevent suspicion from rising, but she will be the liaison to this council. It is too difficult and risky for me to attempt to sneak out at night like this... Any questions?" Ordered Harry. When no questions were asked, Harry turned to Anastasia, giving the vampire a signal that said: "let's go." 

The council gathered around to see the two leave.

"Take care, my lord. We await your return." Addressed Tal Rasha with a slight bow. 

"Thank you, Arch Mage. I look forward to it." Stated Harry as he and the First Vampire disappeared into a green mist.  

"His lordship is quite different from what I expected." Muttered General Solarius with interest. It was definitely true. No one expected the greatest *_Dark_* Lord of his days to be so lively and carefree – if a dark lord can ever be called lively and carefree. 

"Well, he is a Gryffindor." Interjected Tal Rasha lightly, who seemed to be very amused by this. Every council members seemed to smirk at this as if they all understood the terrible irony of it all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks everyone for the reviews.


	6. The Opposing Forces

**Chapter 6: The Opposing Forces **

"...he walked right under us and I just had to re-experience my Marauder days." Explained Sirus attempting to justify why the ministry Aurors found a Death Eater covered in all the colors of the rainbow and singing, "I am a little teapot..." a few days ago.

The room bursted into laughter once again, though the degree of amused outburst varied from person to person. Remus didn't even try to hide his amusement this time. Professor McGonagall had great trouble keeping her reaction toned down to a grin. Albus simply leaned forward in his chair. Though not adding his own two cents to the discussion, his eyes twinkled merrily nonetheless.

"Albus, where's Arthur? And Severus? I thought he was supposed to report in on Voldemort's activities." Questioned Alastor Moody once the laughter died down.

"Ah, Arthur is out on Ministry duties and I believe Severus has an emergency Death Eater meeting again today, so he will be giving me the report tomorrow morning. I'll forward it to all of you when I get it." Answered the headmaster.

"Lemon drops anyone?" Albus asked, raising a plateful of the said candy. The other Order members politely refused at which point the aged wizard popped one into his mouth.

"I think it is good thing he's not here, always a downer on everyone's spirits. In fact, I think the git should be excluded from all subsequent meetings." Commented Sirius pointedly. The other members rolled their eyes backwards.

"Sirius, Severus has taken incredible risk spying on Voldemort..." The aged wizard ignored the slight winces some of the Order members showed when he said "Voldemort" preferring to concentrate on those who had remained resolute and undisturbed. "...for us and is a valuable member of the Order as important and crucial as you and I. I pray that you remember that." Stated the headmaster in the git's defense. Each word was said softly but sternly so that there's no room for future questioning of meaning. Sirius was dignified enough to be shamed and suddenly became very quiet. Remus, who sat beside him, debated between protesting against Albus's harsh remark and laughing at Sirius's predicament, which closely resembled that of a little boy being chastised by his mother for playing in the mud.

"Though I suppose it's understandable. Severus has been rather harsh even for him on the Gryffindors, specifically your godson these recent months." Added Albus with a sigh. Sirius blinked in confusion before fixing the headmaster with a sharp stare.

"He's been what?" There was a slight growl in Black's voice, which was expected given his godson's involvement.

"Harry never told you?" Asked Arabella Figg. Apparently, the estranged old lady, who was the neighbor of the Dursleys, was in fact a witch sent by Dumbledore to look after Harry. The revelation would no doubt be a major shocker for the young man, especially since Harry was never particularly found of the cat woman.

"What, that Snape's being a jerk! No of course that! Harry's not the kind of person to tattle tale." Replied Sirius, shooting back the sarcastic and bitter reply. Arabella winced slightly as did quite a few other people.

"Sorry, but I have been on the edge lately with everything that has been happening." Apologized Sirius sincerely with lowered head. The other members couldn't help but feel sorry for the man. As Sirius has shown, trying to reconnect with a family member is tough especially in times of war. The fact that one member is a hunted fugitive of the good guys while the other is a bounty of the bad guys makes it all the more difficult.

"It's alright Padfoot. You will be fine once we get you cleared. Besides Harry's a tough kid. He'll make it." Stated Remus reassuringly, comforting his friend. The other members of the Order of the Phoenix also added various encouraging words and condolences.

"I know he's strong, Moony. That's just the thing I am worried about. Harry's too strong sometimes. He prefers to take up all the burdens silently, to hold all his emotions and fears inside of him than to let it out and worry others. I just wish that he didn't have to go through all this. I mean we are adults. It's hard, but we can deal with it. Harry's just a child and he's the number one target of madman." Sirius's voice quavered towards the end. The mid aged, dark haired man suddenly looked like he had just gone to Azkaban for another 12 years. Suddenly the man lifted his head and turned to look straight at Albus with those sad, tired eyes of his. Anyone else would have melted and would have given in just to escape from those eyes, but not Albus Dumbledore.

The headmaster stared right back at Sirius with unmoving and stern yet comforting and understanding eyes.

"Yes, Harry's a child, but he's not just any ordinary child. None of us want him to do this but Sirius, you must understand that this is something Harry can't escape from." Explained Albus. The door to the headmaster's chambers suddenly opened and in walked Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley.

"Ah, yes, come in Ms. Granger, Mr. Weasley." Albus motioned the two confused Gryffindor students to sit.

"What's going on, headmaster, we heard you say Harry's name. Did something happen? Did..." Asked Hermione with rising concern.

"No, Harry's fine...for now." Interrupted the headmaster to keep the two from getting the wrong impression.

"_For now?"_

"What do you mean by that, sir?" Asked Ron with furrowed eyebrows.

"We believe that Voldemort will be making a big move soon." Said Albus seriously. "That is to say that he will try to topple the Ministry and take over Magical Britain."

The two 5th year students choked on these words.

"To demoralize the resistance, we believe that he will try to eliminate Harry in the opening days. It is likely that he will try to lure Harry out of Hogwarts and kill him." Continued the headmaster without waiting for a response. Ron and Hermione suddenly became very pale and shaken by fright. They had always been aware of the danger, heck when was Harry's life not in danger, but to hear Headmaster Dumbledore say it... that is a completely different thing.

"Harry doesn't know enough to defeat Voldemort so an actual duel would most likely result in his death. I know that the three of you had quite a bit of adventure in the past, but this time I must ask you not to do it this year." By now, the headmaster was leaning heavily on his desk towards the two students. The two Gryffindors could only nod in acknowledgement.

"What can we do to help?" Asked Hermione finally. Albus sighed.

"Keep us informed of Harry's conditions. Observe him closely, don't let him out of your sight. It is imperative that Harry is not left alone or is allowed contact with unknown people or objects." Stated Albus. Memory of the trophy – portkey incident at the Triwizard Tournament last year was still fresh in everyone's mind.

"Ron, Hermione, if anything unusual happens, please report immediately to one of the professors even if it's Snape. If Harry is anything like James then he will try to take on the problem himself and maybe even confront Voldemort by himself. Please don't let him." Pleaded a shaken voice from the side. Ron and Hermione turned to see a fragile looking Sirius Black. The two had been so caught up in the headmaster's words that neither noticed the other people in the room.

"Don't worry, Sirius, we'll make sure that Harry's alright." Answered Hermione reassuringly at which Padfoot muttered a quiet thank you.

"Now, I know that you two, being Harry's best friends, would do this without us asking this, but I called you up here for another reason as well. I would like to extend invitations to both of you to join the Order of the Phoenix." Stated Albus, smiling a bit at this.

"Right now!?" Questioned Ron with more than a little surprised. True, the order did take quite a few young graduates of Hogwarts recently, but he didn't know you could join it while you were still at school.

"Yes, starting this year, we will be accepting junior members into the Order. And before you ask, no, you wouldn't go on mission or patrol like normal members since you will still be in school. But, you will be getting access to some Order information and extra training in magical combat." Explained the headmaster and leader of the Order of the Phoenix.

"Cool." Commented Ron, who was more than a little excited at the prospect of becoming a junior Order member.

"Wait, but what about Harry? Is he a member already?" Asked Ron suddenly as his thoughts returned to his friend.

"No." Answered Albus simply. Both Ron and Hermione were stunned and exchanged confused looks.

"Harry's basically an Order member already. He's been asking all kinds of questions about what's going on with the war. If we make him an actual member, he'll become even more devoted to the war effort. At the present moment, we think that it's better if he's not in the Order, where as if you two are, you can better communicate with us." Explained Remus. Apparently, the justification was enough to satisfy Harry's two friends.

"So, how's my godson lately, he didn't write for a while and I was getting worried?" Asked Sirius.

"He's doing fine from what we could tell. I mean he's been eating fine..." Stated Hermione.

"...and he still likes to play Quidditch." Continued Ron.

"Oh, I am glad then." Sighed Sirius in relief, relaxing a bit in his chair.

"But, there's something different about him though." Added Hermione in after thought.

"Like what?" Sirius sat up immediately; concern immediately showing across his face once again.

"Nothing big, it's just that I feel like he's different somehow. Maybe it's just me." Hermione suddenly didn't sound so sure. The bushy haired girl looked at Ron, wondering if she was just paranoid or if Ron had also noticed.

"Actually, I think Hermione may be right. Harry had a run in with Draco and a bunch of Slytherins a day or two back." Stated Ron cautiously.

"Ergh, what did they do?" Growled Sirius.

"Nothing. Harry said something to them in the hallways. I don't know what since none of us were close enough to hear it, but whatever he said, the Slytherins suddenly looked frightened and very afraid. Even Snape, I mean Professor Snape, became pale." Explained Ron. The Order members exchanged concerned looks.

"It's probably because of all the pressures he's been under, sir. The work load has been much greater this year." Added Hermione quickly trying to justify the incident.

"Yes, you are probably correct, Ms. Granger. Anything else?" Asked Headmaster Dumbledore with hand up to his chin looking between his two students.

"No, nothing more, sir." Said Ron.

"Alright, you may go now. Thank you for sharing that." Thanked Albus. The two friends turned to leave, but Ron stopped and turned around at the door.

"Is Harry alright, sir?" Asked Ron, a bit unsurely.

"We hope so." Answered the headmaster with a sigh. "We hope so."

It was perhaps believable if it was said just once, but the fact that Albus repeated the phrase twice seemed to suggest that headmaster himself was unsure and was trying to convince himself that Harry was indeed alright as much as he was trying to convince Ron and Hermione.

"Don't worry, we'll take good care of Harry, Padfoot." Stated Hermione with just enough confidence to reassure Harry's godfather.

"Harry's lucky to have friends like you." Responded Sirius.

"Come on, let's go Ron." Stated Hermione, bringing Ron out of his thoughts. Then the two disappeared through the door.

"What could this mean?" Asked Alastor Moody once he was sure the two were out of hearing range.

"I am not sure exactly what's going on, but it would seem that something has happened or is happening." Stated Albus. His face carried the impression of being in deep deliberation, one that no one wanted to disturb.

"I am not sure if you know this, Padfoot, but Harry risked his life to save a young Ms. Weasley the other day during a friendly Seeker match I believe." Started Albus, looking at Sirius. The confused expression of the other man's face told the headmaster that this was news to him. The headmaster motioned Professor McGonagall to continue being that both of the students involved were from her house.

"From what I have learned, Mr. Potter apparently took a bludgerto the side that was meant for Ms. Weasley. Ms. Weasley managed to stay on her broom, but Harry fell off his. It was a most heroic deed which won Mr. Potter 30 house points." Stated the Gryffindor head of house with a touch of pride.

"I would say Harry won more than just some house points. What was Arthur's daughter's name again? Virginia, was it? See, Mooney, I told you Harry been seeing girls. Albus, I don't think it's that big of a thing. James was the same age as well when he started being particularly interested in Lily." Laughed Sirius, grinning at his friend. The other Order members all chucked.

"Yes, well, it wasn't the act itself that was surprising, Sirius. It's what

Poppy told me when she treated Harry." Explained Albus.

"What do you mean? He wasn't badly hurt was he?" Asked Remus.

"No, he wasn't hurt at all. That was the problem, actually." Answered Albus.

"I am afraid I don't follow Albus." Stated a confused Sirius T Black.

"Given the impact of the blow and height of fall, Poppy said that Harry should have been pretty beat up, a couple of broken ribs and bones at the very least. She found strands of blood on Harry's clothing, which have been identified to be Harry's but no open wounds whatsoever." Explained Albus.

"What, but that doesn't make any sense." Stated Sirius.

"What do you think this means, Albus?" Asked Remus, eager to hear the headmaster's interpretations.

"Well, it could be that Harry was miraculously healed by some foreign or untapped power within him." Offered Albus, but the hesitation in his voice told everyone that he wasn't convinced.

"You don't believe that Albus. Besides we didn't detect any magical changes in Harry." Protested Arabella. Years of close observation of Harry allowed the woman to detect the slightest magical change in the boy.

"It must have been a powerful and very fast healing spell. You know what it is, Albus" Stated Alastor confidently. The headmaster looked hesitant to respond.

"Albus, what do you know that we don't know?" Asked Remus. Seeing that they would refuse to back down until they know the truth, Albus gave in, sighing deeply, knowing they wouldn't like what he had to say.

"Poppy gave Harry a blood test and found some interesting results. She didn't know what to make of the result and I didn't tell her, but I am almost positive that Harry's blood test was consistent with the result of a small blood –letting ritual." The Order members alternated between making chocking noises and splattering.

"That's impossible, all of them are ancient spells and most of them are dark curses. Surely you can't imply that..." Protested the Gryffindor head of house.

"I am afraid I have no choice under the circumstances but to imply just that, Minerva." Replied Albus without the twinkle in his eyes.

"Albus, most of those curses haven't been performed in centuries. How did Harry...?" Asked a dumbfounded Remus. But where as he was able to use his voice, his friend, Padfoot was yelling in some inarticulate language.

"No, how can you say such things?! Harry would NEVER?! There must be some logical explanation. Harry can NOT be evil." Sirius was literally shaking with disbelief and rage at what was being said about his godson.

"Relax, Sirius, I am not implying at all that Harry's evil." Stated Albus trying to calm his friend down.

"Yes, you are, sir, you are implying just that." Glared back Sirius, having been calmed down a bit by Remus. Albus looked for once in his lifetime unsure of what to say.

"Look, Sirius, we don't really know for sure what's happened. Maybe you are right, I am wrong and this whole incident was just an unfortunate coincidence. But, we can hope for the best and I do hope that I am wrong. In time, I think we'll know, but until then I suggest that we should be particularly watchful of Mr. Potter." Suggested Albus.

Sirius and Remus both reluctantly agreed.

Could it be true. Could Harry be practicing the dark arts. Sirius refused to wrap his mind around such a thought. It was simply an impossibility...

...or so he thought.

Beautiful, simply beautiful... the figures inside the transparent spherical glass ball danced about merrily much to the amusement of the man holding it. The man had rich red hair and a million watt smile plastered on his face as he shook the snow globe again, captivated by the monstrous blizzard that descended on the inhabitants within the glass sphere.

"Splendid artifact, isn't it?" Came an amused voice a few feet away, causing the man to divert his attention. "The muggles call it a snow globe, I believe."

"Ah, yes, I believe that's right. I have heard of it, but never actually held one before. Oh, I am sorry Commander Lefton for being distracted." Apologized the red haired man, putting the snow globe back on the desk before the Auror commander.

"Quite alright, Mr. Weasley. At least now I know what Christmas gift I should get you." Replied Marcus humorously. Lord knows Arthur Weasley's fascination with muggle objects was legendary within the Ministry.

"Now, back to the issue at hand, I think I can arrange a division to be sent to Hogwarts. God knows, that place's the only safe haven in England and I intend to keep it that way for the children." Agreed the man dressed in Auror uniform. Arthur Weasley thanked the man heartily.

"Do extend my thanks to Professor Dumbledore and the rest of the Order. You people have been lifesavers for everyone. Contraire to what the Minister would have you to believe, we Aurors here are very supportive of what the Order of the Phoenix is doing." Said the man.

"I'll be sure to tell him, Mr. Lefton, I am sure he'll be pleased to hear this." Exclaimed Arthur.

"No problem, anytime Albus needs a hand, don't hesitate to call us for help and I don't care if I have to go over the heads of that bumbling fool in the seat of the Minister of Magic to do it." Exclaimed the Auror commander as he shook hands with the Order representative.

Once Arthur left, the Auror commander positioned himself comfortably in his lazy chair and proceeded to become engrossed in some document before him. Causally, Marcus moved his hand over the snow globe before him. The glass ball glowed for second as several layers of silence and deception shields sprung up around the office.

"Do you want me to inform the team, sir?" Came a voice from the darkness once Arthur had left. A figure stepped away from the darkness. Auror Commander Lefton didn't even bother to look up.

"Yes, I want at least a dozen of our best Unspeakable agents inside the school. I'll arrange to move my own Auror division there so they won't draw suspicion when they report to me." Ordered the Auror commander.

"Do you think it's necessary for us to spy on our allies, sir? I know the Ministry is compromised, but I doubt any Death Eater can penetrate Dumbledore's Order." Protested the other man.

"It's not the Order. It's the students in Hogwarts, who are or are about to be initiated as Death Eaters." Stated Marcus.

"Sir?" The man looked very perplexed. Apparently, this was news to him. Marcus smiled.

"An agent we have within Hogwarts just recently released a list of students who most likely have already or are about to join Voldemort." Stated Marcus. The man standing before him looked stunned.

"An Unspeakable... within Hogwarts?" Stammered the man.

"Yes. She's presently a student, but she has been an invaluable agent too. Apparently, many of the Dark Lord's servants have sent their children to Hogwarts and quite a few of them have become a bit too vocal about what their parents do." Commander Lefton's eyes gleaned with amusement.

"Impressive, very impressive." Laughed the other man.

"Indeed, it is rare that we are blessed with such a young talent." Agreed Marcus. "In any case, the Unspeakable agents will deal with these neo Death Eaters. With any luck, we can eliminate a new generation of these monsters before they even start. The team at Hogwarts will be informed of the presence of an agent in the student body, but her identity will not be revealed for security reasons except in cases of extreme emergency."

"Understood, sir." Acknowledged the man. "Anything else sir?"

Marcus thought for a second.

"Actually there is. Something strange has also happened, something big, I think." Commander Lefton said, frowning a bit. It was something elusive, something he couldn't quite place his hands on.

"Recently we found the bodies - well more like the scant remains - of about a dozen dark wizards, Voldemort supporters, in a forest in northern Romania. The department had been tracking this group of dark followers for about a year. Here take a look at this." Marcus handed the man a folder with the word "Classified" clearly marked across it in big black bolded letters.

"We believe they were one of the most powerful groups of dark wizards in continental Europe, terrorizing international communities. They have successfully evaded ministry Aurors, hit wizards, and assassinated all spies sent to expose them. They were the best of the worst so to speak. Days ago, they suddenly disappeared. Imagine our surprise when our forensics units found the remains of the group in a forest."

"How sir?" Asked the man in disbelief, looking through the documents.

"We believe that they were ambushed and killed. The ambushers used some very advance concealing charms and spells, some of which we still couldn't figure out. We would never have even found their remains had not we already been tracking those guys. What I am saying is that whoever attacked our suspects were powerful, VERY powerful. As of yet, we have no clue who or what these people are." Stated Commander Marcus Lefton.

"They could be potential allies like the Order of the Phoenix." Suggested the subordinate hopefully.

"Or they could be a rival group of dark wizards." Retorted Marcus. "Traces of very dark curses and charms, some of foreign and even ancient origin, were detected."

Silence, both knew what this meant. A rival group of dark wizards was on the loose and no one knows about it. The implications could get very serious.

"I want you to head the investigation on this. Report anything you find back to me, but not to anyone else, do I make myself clear?" Commander Lefton's eyes narrowed as he firmly commanded his subordinate.

"Crystal, sir." The Unspeakable agent then disappeared back into the shadows he came from. Marcus moved his hand over the snow globe again and the shields came down.

The Auror commander stared at the snow globe.

Hum... I can see why he was so interested. This is an amazing object. Thought Auror Commander and Deputy Head of Department of Mysteries, Marcus Lefton, as he picked up the snow globe and watched the snow fall.

The thick stench of death attacked the senses of all who entered the room. It is only through the repetition of gathering under similar conditions week after week, month after month that prevented the occupants of the room from throwing up.

"One simple artifact, one simple magical artifact that your lord has requested and none of you incompetent idiots can get it!" Voldemort howled with rage over the dead bodies. He needed the scepter. Oh yes, with the legendary _**Dragon Scepter**_, victory would be all but certain...

"Get rid of the bodies." Sneered a cold drawl voice that demanded compliance.

"Yes, my lord." Several people at the back of the room quickly removed the mutilated remains of what were once three live human beings. Only the sporadic puddles of blood indicated the unfortunate fate of the three wretched fools.

"Let that be a lesson to all of you that Lord Voldemort does not tolerate failures." Apparently, the bag of bones and skin think that speaking in the third person makes him sound intimidating...

"Of course, my lord." Affirmed the throng of Death Eaters.

"Now, it appears also that someone has been killing off my supporters on the continent. I want to know WHO! ...Lucius!" Hissed Voldemort venomously, shrieking and flaring about violently.

"My lord... nobody knows what happened. The Ministry doesn't even know of the identities of the Death Eaters..." Answered Death Eater in the lead. Before the elder Malfoy was even finished with his report, he was on the ground, wrecked by spasms of pain and agony caused by the Cruciatus curse.

"Didn't I just say that I would not tolerate any failures? This include excuses as well, Lucius." Voldemort released the man from the pain curse after a few more seconds.

"Do any of you have a shred of good news for your lord?" Boomed Lord Voldemort. His loyal cohorts before him shrunk away in fear of retribution.

"Wormtail! What of the other creatures? Have they joined me yet?" Asked Voldemort with bottled anger. The Dark Lord was not the mood for any more bad news.

"Myy... my lord, the giants and werewolves we have contacted have either pledged their support or have decided to stay neutral for the time being." Voldemort was apparently content enough with the information to not curse Wormtail outright.

"And the vampires?" Voldemort's wand hovered dangerously before Wormtail. The rat quivered in fear of the expected punishment. Truth was, he wasn't able to get in touch with any vampires for some reason.

Silence at first...

"Please my lord, I couldn't find any vampires. They must have..." The rat's pleads were answered by one word.

"Crucio!"

"Do you know why you couldn't locate any vampires, my dear Wormtail?" Asked Voldemort with a devious smile after lifting the curse. Splattering helplessly, the bald Death Eater shook his head.

"Because I have already gained the support of the vampires." Stated the Dark Lord with supreme confidence. There was quite a bit of commotion within the Death Eater ranks at this revelation.

"Oh yes, in fact, I would like you to meet a few of them." Voldemort raised his left hand, and a dozen vampires appeared behind him. These vampires first bowed reverently before Voldemort and then stood to either sides of the Dark Lord with their fangs visibly showing. Ignoring the stunned faces of his human followers, Voldemort drew to his full height.

"Loyal followers of darkness. The time draws near when we shall crush all those who have opposed us. We will topple the Ministry, rule Magical Britain and oust all Mudblood and Muggle lovers from our new world society. Harry Potter will not be able to hide behind Dumbledore this time for I shall kill them both." Voldemort's eyes gleaned madly. A smirk or rather more like a demonic smile twisted across his face giving the impression and image of a supremely confident dark lord.

"Our hour of greatness is approaching! Victory will be OURS!" Shouted... no announced...proclaimed the Dark Lord. Indeed, with the support of the undead and usage of the element of surprise, the Dark Lord would surely win the coming battles, which would guarantee the allegiance of those dark followers who still waver with regard to whether or not to join him. The Death Eaters meanwhile were electrified, cheering loudly and ecstatically at the end of their leader's oration, all except for one that is...

I have to tell Dumbledore about this... Thought Severus as he gazed at the sea of Death Eater fanatics around him.

It was the very imagery of one of those haunted/dark castles that muggles were so used to seeing on TV and movies. A black run down castle on a lofty cliff side; a perfect hideout for some evil maniac bent on taking over the world. Inside, light only allowed a visibility range of no more than 5 to 10 feet. Additionally, the castle was situated deep within the Carpathian Mountain Ranges, further linking it to the vampire legend of Dracula and all those stuff.

The castle was in fact Serpentine Order headquarters, so to the average ignorant human being, that would be synopsis to being a hideout for evil dudes. Slytherin Castle as it was called, was unplotable like Hogwarts, but had enough wards to make Hogwarts look like it has nothing more than an air bubble surrounding it for defense. Therefore, it existed to the public nothing more than myth and legend; myth and legend that have been fanned by popular superstitions and runaway human imagination into very amusing fictitious works, most notably about the vampire Dracula, who supposed lived in Transylvania. Whether it was just coincidence or something else, no one knows. Though Lady von Hollenstein had been most amused when she saw a film version of Dracula at a muggle movie theater during one of her excursions into the outside world.

Arch Mage Tal Rasha had often marveled at how ignorant the world has become as time drew on. The average Joe was much more intelligent and knowledgeable when he was back in time being trained by the Obsidian Order. After all, people now days did believe that an artifact featuring two intersecting and perpendicular lines repelled vampires. Amazing, almost as amazing as how some mediocre human who called himself Voldemort managed to instigate what's to be a global, multi-species war.

Tal Rasha strutted through the corridors, allowing the edges of his cloak to bellow out behind him as he did. Others walking in the hallways gladly shifted to the side to grant the Arch Mage unhindered middle passage.

"ID verification: Tal Rasha, Obsidian Mage, Arch Mage, High Council member... access granted..." A pair of double doors swung opened. All eyes turned on Tal Rasha as he entered and the doors closing behind him.

"What happened?" Asked an agitated Tal Rasha. The witch in blue robes, Celia merely pointed to a prone figure lying unconscious on the floor. It was a vampire.

"Claims to be a member of the Vampire's Council that's being called into session." Sneered one of the resident vampire mages in Slytherin Castle. The statement was said with as much sarcasm as the vampire was able to muster. Rasha surveyed the body. From what he knows, the suspect was a young vampire, having been turned perhaps no more than a few weeks ago. Tal Rasha looked around him and saw several of the elder vampires present, glaring at the body before him. How in all of hell did this nobody dare claim residency in the most elite circle of vampires?

"Wake him." Ordered Tal Rasha. One of the vampires unceremoniously tossed a fire spell at the body, causing the vampire to yelp in shock. The fire caused no serious damage and quickly burned itself up. The vampire then shot upward, looking around at the faces, half dazed and half surprised. When the vampire was finally more or less oriented several minutes later, the two hundred year old arch mage motioned one of the vampire mages to interrogate the suspect.

"Who are you?" The vampire mage asked.

"Duke of Seine, War Magnate of the vampire council!" Seeing a fellow vampire, the suspect quickly straightened himself, drawing himself to his full height in an attempt to try to look intimidating. If possible, all the vampires present would have rolled their eyes to the back of their heads.

"_**Luminaire**_!" A bright flash of light engulfed the vampire causing him to scream out in agony. While veteran and old vampires would have been able to train themselves to become immune to the effects of light, an inexperienced vampire like this most certainly wouldn't have. The light quickly vanished leaving a badly bruised but alive vampire.

"Dear fledging, we here are members of the last council that was ever summoned and I can swear that I do not know you." Stated the vampire mage. The young vampire looked at the vampire before him and then the others around him with a more focused vision and saw several of the older vampires that Voldemort had been trying to contact.

"Yo...you…you are...the vampire council." Stammered the vampire.

"Yes, and we are all very interested in how a fledgling like you can be part of this council and who gave you all the titles." There was a dangerous edge in the vampire mage's voice, which was missed by the captured fledgling.

"His greatness, Lord Voldemort did so and he has asked the vampires to join him. We couldn't find the original council so he created one but now that I have found..." The vampire talked onwards, oblivious to the hostile atmosphere.

"Fledging, you dare pose as the council and make decisions for the entire vampire realm! I should have you staked for treason against the **Superior Vampire Council**!" The vampire mage fired back. The fledgling gapped with wide opened mouth.

"Lord Voldemort has offered us a once in an eternity's opportunity. Surely you will not..." Protested the vampire, but was quickly cut off by his elder.

"Do not presume to judge what you don't know, fledging, you have no idea what you have done." Stated the vampire mage with blazing energy. The young fledgling suddenly remembered the circumstances concerning how he was forcibly subdued hours ago and realized that he was in hostile territory. If these vampires would not join him, then they must die. Surely Voldemort gave him enough power to take these guys on. Tossing reason and caution to the wind, he leaped with inhuman speed to attack, only to be violently thrown back down. The young vampire then howled in indescribable pain as the vampire mage harshly attacked his mind. Too young to grasp what's happening, the Voldemort supporter could only curl on the ground as the elder vampire drained his mind of his memories.

"Is he dead?" Asked Tal Rasha coldly from the side afterwards.

"Not yet, but close enough." The vampire shook his head in disgust.

"Finish him, then." Ordered Tal Rasha. Several of the other vampire mages combined their energy, firing several luminaire charms, which completely obliterated the body of the mindless vampire, leaving a pile of dusty robes behind.

"I have managed to retrieve data regarding the members and plans of Voldemort's puppet vampire council... I must contact the rest of the Superior Vampire Council." Stated the vampire, turning to Tal Rasha. The arch mage nodded.

"Please do. I'll inform the First Vampire and Lord Slytherin of this... unfortunate series of events." Stated Tal Rasha, glancing at the remains. With that said, the vampires then quickly departed.

If the vampires even just the younger ones join Voldemort, it could seriously complicate the current situation. Thought Tal Rasha. This was not good, the arch mage reasoned and he was right.

So, right now, inside Hogwarts, in just the student body, you got a very powerful Harry, the First Vampire, Death Eater recruits, an Unspeakable agent and Order agents. And the best part is they will all know each other in school. So far, I am creating ideas for some interesting conversations, but I am open to suggestions if anyone else has a particular idea for an encounter between the characters.

_AN: Anyone interested in being on my mailing list, please e-mail me or leave a note on the message board. I also decided to cut the war mages/Elvin part. I didn't really know what to do with them. Sorry! If and when I write another story, I'll include them._


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